Art store begets art store on Fourth Avenue

Jerry’s Artarama is coming to New York. The 15-store discount art-supply chain, which is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., has signed a 10-year lease for 4,500 square feet of ground floor space at 111 Fourth Ave., between East 11th and East 12th streets. Asking rent for the deal, which includes a 500-square-foot basement, was $125 per square foot.

Jerry’s is expected to open in early December. It will replace Utrecht Art Supply, which had been in the space for 30 years. Steve Rappaport, the Sinvin Real Estate broker who represented Jerry’s, noted that the spot is convenient for the art students of Parsons, New York University and Cooper Union, which are all nearby.

“It’s the size (Jerry’s) needs,” he added.

Gregory Gang, the Tarter Stats O’Toole broker who, along with colleague Catherine O’Toole, represented landlord Fourth Avenue Owners Corp., said the site’s 19-foot ceilings and ample frontage make it a good fit for selling art as well.