A large new restaurant from two accomplished industry professionals is coming to the ’ ModernHaus Soho Hotel — 10,000 square-foot Selene by Kyma.
It’s a partnership of James Ragonese, formerly of LDV Hospitality, and Reno Christou, co-founder of the Kyma Greek restaurant group.
The long-vacant space at 23 Grand St., near the foot of Sixth Avenue, received “dozens’ of competitive offers,” according to Meridian Capital Group’s James Famularo, who repped landlord Thor Equities with his firm’s Jacob Mayer. Meridian’s Justin Bustamante repped the tenant.
The asking rent was $90 per square foot.
The new eatery will have a seafood-driven menu. Famularo said, “The pedigree, concept and vision behind Selene made them the clear choice.”
Kyma has locations in Flatiron, Hudson Yards, Roslyn L.I., and West Palm Beach.
Thor chairman Joseph Sitt called the deal “a win for the neighborhood, the hotel and New York’s hospitality community as a whole.”
The ModernHaus was originally known as the James. Thor bought the property in 2017 but had to close it during the pandemic.
Thor successfully refinanced the property with a $53.5 million loan secured through Argentic.
Another week, another Midtown office building to completely fill up.
This one’s SL Green’s 919 Third Ave., which reached 100% occupancy thanks to a 66,100 square-foot expansion by the New York State Office of General Services. The 15-year lease brings the OGS to 117,390 square feet in the tower.
Other tenants at the 1.5 million square-footer include Bloomberg LP, which renewed and expanded to 925,000 square feet last year, as well as Schulte Roth & Zabel. But it’s best known to the public as home to fabled restaurant P.J. Clarke’s at the East 55th Street corner.
OGS was repped by a CBRE team including Stephen B. Siegel and Liz Lash. SL Green was repped by a different CBRE team led by Robert Alexander and Ryan Alexander.
