Leather goods store casts off from Seaport

Studio Manhattan inks a lease on busy Bleecker Street, as its current location downtown prepares for redevelopment.

A leather goods store popular with tourists is decamping to the West Village from South Street Seaport. Studio Manhattan, which sells leather goods and accessories ranging from wallets and belts to iPhone cases, will move into 630 square feet at 277 Bleecker St. under a 10-year lease at an asking rent of $300 per square foot.

The store, between Jones and Cornelia streets, will open around July. The retailer will leave behind its space at South Street Seaport Mall, which will soon be redeveloped. Despite damage sustained during Superstorm Sandy, that store remains open.

Ava Kim of Oxford Property Group represented Studio Manhattan, while Steve Rappaport of Sinvin Real Estate represented building owner 277 Bleecker.

“It’s a heavily trafficked block,” Mr. Rappaport said, “so it’s a great block to sell accessories.”

Mr. Rappaport said the space has been vacant for about a year. The previous tenant was an internet café, rendered obsolete by the explosion of smartphone usage.

“That’s the stuff of a bygone era now,” Mr. Rappaport said.