NEW YORK CITY-The ownership of 195 and 222 Broadway, an affiliate of L&L Holding Co. and Beacon Capital, are about to spend $50 million to reposition the properties to tie into the downtown's bustling retail market.

Plans are finally in place to bring lobby-level stores to the former AT&T headquarters building at 195 Broadway after almost six years of negotiations with the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to the New York Post.

L&L Chairman and CEO David W. Levinson has approvals to create 15,000 square feet of stores at the lobby level, as well as 20,000 square feet of retail below grade.

“The lobby is a temple and must be treated properly,” Levinson says. “We can have up to three stores, possibly, including a restaurant, as well as a pedestrian galleria, which will run from Fulton to Dey Street.”

At 222 Broadway, which has 750,000 square feet of office space that is 98% leased to firms such as Bank of America and Condé Nast, its retail frontage has long been obscured under an overhang.

Work will begin this summer to create a new facade lining up with the Broadway street wall that will eliminate the overhang, the newspaper reports. The project will create 16,000 square feet of retail at street level and 10,000 feet of additional space on the second floor. See story in the New York Post.