Benjamin Birnbaum joined Newmark’s Retail Services in 2007 at the firm’s New York headquarters, where he was named the youngest Vice Chairman in Newmark’s history. He specializes in landlord and tenant representation on both a national and local level. Since joining the firm, Birnbaum has completed hundreds of transactions valued at more than $4 billion. On the landlord side, Birnbaum has represented prominent owners such as Abington Holdings, Columbia Property Trust, GFP Real Estate, Global Holdings, Hines, Hubb NYC, Invesco, JVP Management, Nuveen, The Olnick Organization, Related, The Rockefeller Group, RFR Realty, Ruben Companies, SL Green Realty and Stonehenge Management LLC. Some of Birnbaum’s recent success on the agency side include his ongoing representation of 1501 Broadway in Times Square, where he completed transactions for Taco Bell’s flagship restaurant as well as Raising Cane’s first New York City restaurant. He also represented Nuveen in their 6,500-square-foot lease to Lululemon at 1529 Third Avenue. He represented GFP Real Estate at 560 Broadway, in a transaction to Aritzia, replacing Dean and Deluca, in arguably one of Soho’s most important corners.
Birnbaum also has extensive tenant representation experience. He has a stellar reputation for implementing and executing rollout strategies across North America. He currently represents Summit Health, CityMD’s parent company, which he has helped grow from four locations to more than 150. Additional current clients include Alo Yoga, American Vintage, Blink Fitness, Canali, dntl bar, Fila, GANNI, Glosslab, Grand Seiko, JD Sports, Lilly Pulitzer, Madison Reed, Manolo Blahnik, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Peloton, Rendrcare, The Swatch Group and Watches of Switzerland. Birnbaum also has immense experience in the food and beverage industry, playing a key role in the rollout of Five Guys, Gregorys Coffee, Juice Generation, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Pret A Manger, accounting for more than 100 new store openings combined. He recently represented Din Tai Fung in securing more than 25,000 square feet at 1633 Broadway for their first East Coast restaurant.
Some of Birnbaum’s recent successes include representing Alo Yoga for their 8,000-square-foot flagship store at 600 Fifth Avenue, and their Boston Flagship in the Prudential Center; representing Fila in their first North American retail store at 565 Broadway; representing Canali at 600 Madison Avenue; securing Peloton’s 35,000-square-foot “Super Studio” at 5 Manhattan West; Peloton’s headquarters office lease of 300,000 square feet at 441 Ninth Avenue; Manolo Blahnik’s first North American store and offices at 717 Madison Avenue; JD Sports’ 35,000-square-foot Times Square store at 1466 Broadway; Watches of Switzerland’s first New York City location, located at 60 Greene Street; MedMen’s flagship at 433 Fifth Avenue; and Shake Shack’s Test Kitchen and headquarters at 225 Varick Street. He also represented the iconic Rizzoli Bookstore in its relocation to 1123 Broadway and Equinox in its 40,000-square-foot lease at 315 Park Avenue South.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Birnbaum was named Newmark’s Top Producing National Retail Broker in 2017, 2019 and 2020, New York Retail Broker in 2018 and 2021 Also in 2017, Birnbaum received the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) for his work with Peloton at 5 Manhattan West. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Young Men’s/Young Women’s Real Estate Association (YMRWEA).He is a board member of Café Joyeux USA and is an active member of Autism Speaks.