Bridal flagship deal inked after eight-month engagement.

Helping the world-renown Kleinfeld Bridal Corp. move its flagship store to a Chelsea location was a coup, not only for the Kaufman Organization and George Comfort & Sons--the broker representing Kleinfeld--but for the borough of Manhattan itself.

The bridal store signed a 16-year lease on a total of 30,000 s/f on the ground floor and basement at 111 West 19th St, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, and plans to move in this summer.

Kleinfeld is by far the most successful and recognized bridal store in the world. Its former Bay Ridge, Brooklyn location attracted 20,000 customers a year, with the typical purchaser spending an average of $4,000 and returning at least four times to the store.

Easily accessible for brides-to-be from the tri-state area, and anywhere in the country for that matter, the store will add jobs to the south Chelsea area as it plans to increase staff by 25% to accommodate the Manhattan showcase location.

The eight-month negotiation called on patient and persistent collaboration between Wayne Rogers and partners at Kleinfeld, broker Joshua Goldman at George Comfort & Sons, architect Paul Taylor and Barbara Raskob and myself at Kaufman.

The Kleinfeld ownership had seen at least 100 locations with a host of experienced brokers before Josh Goldman called us.

They needed a space with very specific and exacting criteria. It would have to accommodate about 50 fitting rooms, sewing areas, lounge areas, offices, a tremendous amount of storage (there are at least 5,000 unique dresses on site) and an area for broadcast communications--Kleinfeld appears on national television at least once a week as a leading authority on wedding gowns.

The interior space had to be designed to create the special atmosphere that shopping for a wedding gown requires as it is often a defining moment in a woman's life.

The idea for the Manhattan location was to cross the serene feel of the former Brooklyn location, which consisted of seven brownstones with two outdoor gardens with the sophisticated taste level of Manhattan, the fashion center of the world.

We called in architect Paul Taylor of Stonehill & Taylor right from the beginning. "The challenge," recalls Taylor, "was to create an environment that evokes every woman's wedding dream without undermining the value that Kleinfeld stands for. This unique historic space on the edge of the Ladies' Mile district perfectly suits that need."

The space at 111 West 19th St. was formerly occupied by Forrest Electric for over twenty years. The Kaufman Organization has agreed to install a redesigned store front, beautiful bathrooms and new sidewalks.

After several months of ironing out details and time tables, we signed a lease which gave Kleinfeld Bridal Corp. a magnificent retail space in one of the finest locations in Manhattan at a reasonable price point--in the $40s per s/f--and provided one of our top buildings with a prestigious tenant for at least 16 years.

STEVE KAUFMAN, KAUFMAN ORGANIZATION