Carhartt: Carhartt streetwear spinoff appears to have sewn up space in Williamsburg

A trendy Carhartt boutique seems headed to a stylish stretch of Williamsburg.Carhartt Work in Progress, a spin-off brand of the retailer known for its heavy canvas clothes, appears to have purchased 132 Bedford Ave., a recently refurbished red brick space between North Ninth and North 10th streets in the hip neighborhood.ED Real US LLC, a shell company whose SoHo address is the same as that used by Carhartt WIP, paid $10.5 million in a cash deal for the 2-story, 5,200-square-foot retail berth in August, according to a deed that appeared in the city register Tuesday.The seller in the deal, which the deed says went into contract Jul. 6, was L3 Capital, a 15-year-old Chicago-based private equity firm that invests in retail real estate and controls several Williamsburg sites.Domenic Lanni, an L3 principal, signed the deed on behalf of the firm, which took control of the Bedford site from developer RedSky Capital three years ago. RedSky had to surrender the keys as a part of a sweeping deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure move, and L3 appears to have completed RedSky's redevelopment of the industrial address in 2023 before marketing it.The 132 Bedford acquisition seems of a piece with recent deals where apparel companies have snapped up storefronts, as opposed to leasing them for the long-term, in an apparent effort to control costs.In a series of blockbuster deals over the winter, Prada picked up two storefronts on Fifth Avenue in Midtown for a total of $835 million, and Gucci-parent Kering plunked down $963 million for a multi-level space across the street around the same time. Chanel is also reportedly in talks to buy a prominent site at East 58th and Fifth that LVMH is also eyeing.Lined with bars, restaurants and boutiques, Bedford Avenue is one of Williamsburg's highest-profile shopping streets and commands retail rents of more than $150 per square foot, according to recent market reports.With 24-foot double-height ceilings in an airy 3,800-square-foot ground-level space (along with a 1,400-square-foot basement), 132 Bedford marks a considerable expansion for Carhartt WIP. The retailer's only other New York store at 286 Lafayette St. in SoHo encompasses 1,800 square feet in its sidewalk-level berth.The Lafayette Street location, which opened in 2022 and which Carhartt WIP apparently leases rather than owns, is the third address for the brand in SoHo since it initially opened in 2011 on nearby Crosby Street. It has relocated twice since then.Spun off from Carhartt in 1994 by Swiss designer Edwin Faeh by way of a licensing deal, Carhartt WIP offers slimmer-fitting and pricier garb than its parent company. Its garments are also often made in collaboration with brands beloved by skateboarders, like the sneaker company Converse.Privately-held Carhartt, known for its squash-colored, heavily-stitched canvas pants and jackets, dates back to 1889, when it was founded in Detroit.Efforts to reach Lanni in L3's New York and Chicago offices were unsuccessful by press time. An email sent to Carhartt WIP's North American office went unreturned by press time. And Roberto Rhett, a broker with the commercial brokerage GoodSpace NYC, which marketed 132 Bedford, did not return a call.