Amid pickleball’s rise, CityPickle snags first permanent NYC location

The Big Apple’s first dedicated pickleball club, CityPickle, has snagged a location in Long Island City.

CityPickle will open in the late spring/early summer this year at The Woodworks at 9-03 44th Rd., which is a newly developed red-brick industrial property between Ninth and 10th streets near Vernon Boulevard in the Queens neighborhood.

Here, pickleball will be played on four climate-controlled courts in 10,110 square feet on the ground floor, which has 21-foot-high ceilings.

A public restaurant will also serve up sophisticated food offerings and a robust cocktail menu. An oversize garage door by its 10th Street entrance can be opened for fresh air when the weather permits.

Jonathan Rothstein, Kostas Alafoyiannis and Ryan Maltz of Greiner-Maltz Real Estate represented the building owner/developer, Barone Management.

“We welcome CityPickle to the building and it’s also a great amenity for all the residents in Hunters Point,” said Alafoyiannis, noting that the facility is close to the Court Square stations, as well as one subway stop from Grand Central to Vernon Boulevard on the 7 train.

The 7 also runs to Hudson Yards, where CityPickle cofounders and long-time friends, Mary Cannon and Erica Desai, activated outdoor pickleball courts for the month of October. They also popped up at the buzzy TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in November.

Caleb Petersen and Ravi Idnani of Newmark represented CityPickle in the Long Island City deal, which had an asking rent of $42.50 per foot and runs for 10 years, with two five-year options to renew.

CityPickle plans on opening additional courts in the near future — and is now working with Marty Cottingham, Patrick Steffens and Alexis Odgers of Avison Young to identify new locations.

The Long Island City courts will be open all day and into the evenings, with programming for beginners through advanced players. Reservations can be made for the courts, while both private lessons and clinics will be among the offerings that will additionally include pickleball leagues.

The venue will also be available for private events — including corporate team-building, birthday parties and family reunions.

The 90,000-square-foot building is the first new ground-up industrial building developed in the area in 30 years. It still has 17,000 square feet available on the second floor that includes outdoor terraces with sweeping views — and is divisible down to 2,100 square feet.

While the asking rent is $39.50 per foot, the building has a 25-year Industrial Development Agency tax abatement — and tenants can apply for energy-cost savings, a special ConEd business incentive rate and the Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP), which provides up to $3,000 in tax credits for each employee.

Other tenants on the ground and third floors include flex industrial users and a food commissary, which all have use of a 5,000-square-foot outdoor space on the third floor.

CityPickle says demand for courts is “exploding as New Yorkers fall in love with pickleball.” Since pickleball appeals to all ages, it’s the fastest growing sport in the US. Roughly 36.5 million Americans played pickleball last year — the equivalent of 14% of all adults — and of those who played, 8.5 million returned for eight or more games.

Pickleball has gotten so popular in the Big Apple that players are sparring with other sport fanatics and kids for court time in city parks. Meanwhile, developers are adding indoor courts as amenities in places like the Empire State Building and at Life Time Sky, at 605 W. 42nd St.