10 sites selected for homeless Toy Center tenants.

A tenant association meeting in the International Toy Center held last week became a forum in which some tenants challenged the plans of the Chetrit brothers, who were not present at the meeting, to convert the building into residential condominiums.

Unlike the Gift building, which was similarly purchased and converted, the Toy Center is not currently zoned for such a conversion and some tenants voiced their desire to stay and resist the Chetrits' plans.

David Rosenbloom, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield, who along with a team of fellow C&W and Murray Hill brokers has been tapped to find new buildings to which the many Toy Center tenants can relocate, indicated that such a strategy would be futile.

The Toy Center recently sold to the Chetrit's for $350 million.

"I think that some of the tenants have some frustration that they have to move, it's a shock," he said to REW after the event.

"They will come to grips with that and digest it and then unite as a group because there's a lot more power in size. We're going to find them a great replacement space." Rosenbloom indicated that the team of brokers working on the deal has already identified 10 potential replacement buildings in which the Toy Center tenants could relocate. The buildings are all in Manhattan Rosenbloom said, but he would not reveal any specific locations nor any details about the size and layout of the properties.

The Chetrits have offered the Toy tenants space in another one of their buildings, 450 West 33rd street, which is home to the Associated Press, but tenants at the meeting described the building as an unsuitable replacement.

The demise of the Toy Center as a home for toy tenants has struck a resounding blow to the toy industry in New York, which has experienced a decline in recent years.

The TIA voted last Tuesday on whether one of the industry's two big expos, the October toy fair, would remain in Manhattan or relocate to Dallas. Traditionally, the October fair has been held at the Toy Center. The Chetrit brothers have assured that the October 2005 fair can be held in the Toy Center, but would guarantee the venue for events after that.

While the outcome of the vote was not available at press time, if the October fair is relocated to Dallas, it could severely challenge New York's ability to remain the major hub of the toy industry.

Even the industry's biggest show in February, which has been held in recent years at the Javits Center, is outgrowing its home, according to Kenneth Lewis, a board member for the TIA and a Toy Center tenant. That show, too, is considering relocating, to either Dallas or Atlanta.

Regardless of the TIA's vote, Rosenbloom was confident about the toy industry's future in Manhattan.

"They will get a great replacement space in which they can conduct business and hold their October fairs in the future," he said. "And even if the TIA votes for Dallas, all the tenants in the Toy Center will remain here and form their own association and continue doing business in New York."

Buoying Rosenbloom's optimism for the industry's future in New York City was a statement made by Neil Friedman, president of the FisherPrice unit of Mattel Inc., one of the biggest toy makers and a tenant in the Toy Center. He indicated that the company would not attend any shows outside of New York.