Karen Bellantoni
Vice Chairman
RKF

Karen Bellantoni is a Vice Chairman at RKF and has been with the company since 1999, specializing in tenant and landlord representation in Manhattan and most major markets throughout the United States. She has more than 25 years of experience in retail, retail leasing and merchandising.

Karen has represented an impressive list of retailers, including J.Crew, Carlo Pazolini, Kiehl’s, Diesel, Apple, Bose, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Oliviers & Co., Godiva, Hublot, The Frye Company, Spanx, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Arhaus, Aritzia, Little Missmatched, lululemon athletica, Rag & Bone, Restoration Hardware and Tumi.

Karen is currently executing the national roll-out for The Frye Company, Rag & Bone, Kiehl’s and Godiva. She recently arranged flagship locations for The Frye Company in SoHo, Boston, Washington, DC and Chicago and for Rag & Bone on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Los Angeles, Boston and Greenwich, CT. Karen has secured over 40 locations for Kiehl’s throughout the country and 25 locations for Godiva in malls, lifestyle centers and outlets throughout the US.

In Manhattan, Karen oversees the expansion of brands such as J.Crew, lululemon athletica, Carlo Pazolini and Tumi. Karen represented J.Crew in the leasing of several locations throughout Manhattan for its multiple concepts J.Crew Collection, J.Crew wedding, J.Crew Men’s Shop and crewcuts. She has arranged leases for lululemon athletica on the Upper West Side and in Brooklyn; for Tumi on Madison Avenue and in SoHo; and for Carlo Pazolini in SoHo, the Meatpacking District and the Upper East Side. Karen also represented Apple in leasing two Manhattan flagship locations, including 401 West 14th Street and 767 Fifth Avenue.

In Manhattan, Karen has represented numerous institutional and entrepreneurial owners in the successful leasing of their retail space. Among her notable assignments are consulting with Related Companies on the Time Warner Center, serving as the exclusive leasing agent for Grand Central Terminal on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, representing Taconic Investment Partners and ING Clarion in the leasing of 401 West 14th Street to Apple, Hugo Boss, Moschino and Tudor Investment Corporation, and the merchandising and leasing of Chelsea Market on behalf of Jamestown Properties, where she arranged a 16,153-SF lease with Anthropologie.

Prior to joining the firm, Karen was a Retail Director at Corporate Property Investors (“CPI”, now known as Simon Property Group) where she was responsible for all leasing activities for new retailers in CPI centers. Previously, Karen was an Import Program Designer for the May Company of St. Louis and a Buyer and Merchandiser for the 350 stores of Belk Stores of Charlotte, NC.
Karen earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Ohio University. She is a licensed Salesperson in the state of New York, a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Real Estate Board of New York, and is on its Stores Committee.