National Retail Tenants - New York City

[Carmelo LoPresti]

Hello,

I'm researching information on the process of attracting a national retail tenant on a 4 story brownstone in midtown Manhattan.

It would be a ground floor commercial space, approximately 1,000 SF with a small outdoor area in the rear.

The space is currently occupied by a dry cleaner. The idea is to lease the space to a store front tenant like Verizon, AT&T, Dunkin, or something similar and secure a long term lease.

Here's what I understand so far:

- Work with a commercial retail broker that can bring leads.

- It could be a long process - but what is long? 1 year, 2 years, etc.? Anyone from the NYC area knows anything related to construction can take a long time with approvals, permits, etc.

- Is the building owner always responsible for renovation costs when leasing to a national retail company, or does that depend on the company leasing the space?

Basically, I'm looking for some insight into how the process works, if anyone has any further information they can share it would be appreciated.

Thank you.