The block of Orchard Street between Grand and Broome is brimming with business news this week. In addition to Cafe Katja’s planned expansion we reported yesterday, The Lo-Down has learned that Hyper Island is departing for SoHo while adjacent boutique By Robert James may take over its former storefront.
The Swedish-based digital media school debuted on Orchard Street in July 2010, establishing its first U.S. headquarters here on the Lower East Side. Maria Eriksson, a Hyper Island representative, says the company was outgrowing the space and decided it was a good time to move. The new, larger offices will allow the company to host classes of up to 50 people, rather than the current max of 10, but the move is still a bit bittersweet. “We love Orchard Street,” said Eriksson.
The New York Post reported earlier this month that Hyper Island had signed a lease at 250 Hudson St. From the story:
The training center has leased a 3,100-square-foot storefront. Asking rents at the address are in the $50-a-foot range.
[Landlord Jack] Resnick recently completed $40 million in capital improvements at 250 Hudson, a former printing-trades building now home to prominent office users such as Daniel J. Edelman public relations.
Hyper Island is in the process of moving out of the Lower East Side this week, Eriksson said. Its new space will be ready the second week of October, she said. Eriksson also confirmed gossip along Orchard Street that By Robert James, a menswear design studio and boutique next door at 72 Orchard, tentatively plans to take over the former Hyper Island offices.
Boutique co-owner Michelle Lindsay declined comment on any expansion or relocation plans, saying that she and partner Robert James were still negotiating a deal and not ready to go public.
