The developers of a mixed-use project in Manhattan’s Seaport District have signed a luxury fitness brand as an anchor retail tenant.
Chelsea Piers Fitness, a gym and wellness studio franchise, will open a five-story, 76,000-square-foot fitness center at Tavros’ planned mixed-use tower at 250 Water Street, according to a Thursday announcement from the landlord.
Tavros bought the development site between Peck Slip and Beekman Street with Atlas Capital for $150.5 million in February after the last owners struggled to get a controversial high-rise project off the ground, according to Tavros.
The asking rent and the length of Chelsea Piers Fitness’ lease in the planned 600-unit development were not disclosed, but the median retail asking rent in the nearby Financial District was $248 per square foot in the second half of 2025, according to a report from the Real Estate Board of New York.
“When we acquired 250 Water Street, our vision was to deliver not just housing but a complete neighborhood asset for the Seaport — and a best-in-class fitness community destination was central to that,” Colin Rankowitz, a partner at Tavros, said in a statement. “Chelsea Piers Fitness builds clubs people actually love — clubs that bring people together and create community — and we’re proud to partner with them for a second time.”
Tavros also partnered with Chelsea Piers Fitness in July 2023 to open a 72,000-square-foot fitness club at its project at 24-11 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, which was put on hold in 2024.
Tavros and Chelsea Piers negotiated the lease at 250 Water Street in-house.
“Lower Manhattan is one of the fastest-growing residential neighborhoods in New York City,” David Tewksbury, CEO and co-founder of Chelsea Piers, said in a statement. “Our club at 250 Water Street will be expansive — full of light, beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as a new home to showcase our best-in-class fitness programming, which we know the community will love.”
Seaport Entertainment Group bought the the full-block, 1-acre property for $180 million in 2018 and later spent $40 million on air rights before spinning off from Howard Hughes Holdings, taking a loss on the sale to Tavros after years of pushback from local groups hoping the preserve the neighborhood in its current state.
Activists even went as far as to take Howard Hughes to court in May 2024 to block the development, which at the time envisioned only 270 residential units.
Chelsea Piers Fitness has been expanding throughout the city, most recently with a 47,000-square-foot ground-floor retail lease at TF Cornerstone’s 135 East 57th Street back in November 2025.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
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