By: Mario Mancini

A spontaneous pickleball match helped seal one of Manhattan’s largest retail deals of the year, as Life Time — the high-end “athletic urban country club” — signed a lease for 52,000 square feet at 452 Fifth Avenue, better known as 10 Bryant Park.

As the New York Post first reported, the new Life Time location will replace the current Staples store and span four levels, opening in early 2027 with a dedicated entrance on Fifth Avenue.

The lease is the latest win for the tower’s owners, Property & Building Corp., who recently secured Amazon as a major tenant with a massive 330,000-square-foot commitment. The addition of Life Time all but completes the commercial transformation of the tower, which blends three formerly separate structures including the landmark 10-story Knox Building.

According to the New York Post, Life Time’s incoming space includes the soon-to-be-vacated 17,000-square-foot Staples location. Life Time’s Chief Property Development Officer, Parham Javaheri, said the Midtown site met all of the company’s goals, with strong commercial density and rising residential growth nearby. “We want to serve both our residential and commercial cores,” he explained.

Founded by Bahram Akradi, Life Time already operates seven locations in Manhattan, with more in Brooklyn — including a massive club opening soon at the Brooklyn Tower. Javaheri emphasized the company’s preference for large footprints, noting that several other Life Time clubs in the city span up to 80,000 square feet.

The 10 Bryant Park facility will feature luxury wellness offerings such as a co-ed “wet” spa suite with steam rooms, saunas, hot and cold plunges; a state-of-the-art workout floor with top-tier equipment; massage chairs; compression recovery stations; and six boutique-style studios for group fitness.

As the New York Post detailed, the relationship between the property’s ownership and Life Time began on an athletic note. Property & Building CEO Eli Elefant and Javaheri first met on October 17, 2023, after being introduced by brokers. Instead of a traditional meeting, Elefant invited Javaheri to play pickleball — and the match led to an enduring partnership.

“We played at 1 Penn and Sky on West 42nd Street,” Javaheri recalled. “Eli shared his vision for a next-level wellness amenity. We formed a great connection.”

“It was a great way for him to humiliate me,” Elefant joked about the match, “but I’m a firm believer in personal synergy.” As the New York Post reported, Elefant added that today’s commercial real estate market demands more collaboration and fewer “sharp elbows.”

Following HSBC’s exit from the tower and move to Hudson Yards, Elefant saw an opportunity to revamp the space for 21st-century tenants. “We didn’t just want to build a gym,” he said. “We wanted something that would truly reflect the wellness focus of our tenants, including Amazon.”

Representing Life Time in the transaction was Joe Mastromonaco of Atlantic Retail, while JLL’s Patrick Smith acted on behalf of the landlord.

As the New York Post emphasized, Property & Building Corp.’s parent company controls 14 million square feet of real estate in Israel, but 10 Bryant Park is the only wholly owned New York property in its portfolio. With Amazon now fully occupying the tower’s office space and Life Time bringing a lifestyle anchor to its retail section, the building has become a model for post-pandemic commercial repositioning in Midtown.