By Jeremy Walsh
It’s time to meet the newest tenants of the former Standard Motor Products building in Long Island City: The Muppets.
The workshop that builds the lovable characters is part of the New York office of The Jim Henson Co., which announced last week it was moving from its current Manhattan space across the East River.
The company, best known for its characters on “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show,” signed a seven-year lease for 12,000 square feet on a portion of the fourth floor at 37-18 Northern Blvd., the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield said Friday.
“We weren’t sure we would find anything we would like, but the location on Northern Boulevard made a great first impression,” said Joe Henderson, the Henson company’s senior vice president of administration, noting the lease was up at the Manhattan location. “Then, while we were in the process of making a decision, everyone from the office that we brought over to see the space loved it as well.”
The company expects to move its 10 employees to the space at the end of July, expanding to as many as 45 workers during large projects.
The new space will also allow the East Coast division of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to expand the scale of its projects.
“Thanks to that huge freight elevator, we can work on larger pieces,” Henderson said. “We also hope to do more work with our Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a proprietary animation technology we are currently using on our PBS KIDS’s show ‘Sid the Science Kid.’”
The Muppets will be joining two of the city’s largest movie and television studios — Long Island City’s Silvercup Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios — in western Queens.
The announcement was welcome news for the Long Island City Business Development Corp., which long has touted the neighborhood’s commercial real estate.
“It’s always good to have another well-known company choose to locate in Long Island City,” said LICBDC Vice President Dan Miner. “It’s nothing new, but it simply confirms that smart business people see value in Long Island City’s location.”
Acumen, which purchased the building from Standard Motor in 2008, paid for a $10 million renovation for the 90-year-old, seven-story commercial loft building, including new windows, exterior lighting, elevator, electrical and building system upgrades; lobby renovations; and the creation of modern common corridors.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
