Retail Neighborhoods

[krulltime]

From West 50s to Bleecker, Emerging Retail Neighborhoods
Retailers flock to ‘in between’ neighborhoods and areas expanding their boundaries

http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/June_2004/images/1087352358.jpg
Broadway in the 60s on the Upper West Side

By Eric Marx

In a city where the only constant is change, a diverse slew of up and coming blocks are transforming into swanky shopping destinations. Brokers describe the buzz as an exciting time for nationwide high-end retailers, home furnishing stores and restaurant chains.

Retailers are filling into "in-between" areas to link disparate neighborhoods from the bottom of the Upper West Side to Canal Street.

"National retailers have finally realized the power of the city," says Jeffrey Roseman, executive vice president at Newmark New Spectrum Retail.

The blurring and blending is obvious in the West 50s, where Times Square is now linking to Columbus Circle. Downtown, the West Village is hooking up with the Meat Packing District.

In other cases, retail areas are extending their reach. SoHo, for example, is moving further south to Canal Street. Park Avenue South is moving north, edging into Midtown.

At a time when no residential neighborhood is spurned, few retail neighborhoods are undesirable either.

"Every area is now viable in each market of the city," says Roseman.

Tourists and shoppers heading to the Time Warner Center from Times Square will create new retail opportunities in the 40s and 50s along Broadway and Seventh Avenue, including at buildings like 1775 Broadway between 57th and 58th Streets, Roseman says.

The Time Warner building itself has become the "50-yard line for retail," Roseman says, with leases turning over on nearby Broadway for between $250 to $300 a square foot.

North of Columbus Circle, there’s a drop-off that may turn with the addition of a giant Bed Bath & Beyond at the corner of 64th Street and Broadway opposite Lincoln Center, says Karen Bellantoni, senior managing director at Robert K. Futterman & Associates.

But the long intersections at 65th and 70th Streets make the area difficult for pedestrians to navigate, which makes for a less than ideal retail climate, she says. Further up, Broadway in the high 60s and low 70s is largely settled, and many of the stores will not turn over any time soon.

Along Park Avenue South, Roseman says he sees a push beyond the 23rd Street corridor into the mid- and high 20s - currently a no-man’s land of fast food joints and mom-and-pop shops, with the Sushi Samba and Dos Caminos restaurants pushing the boundary upwards.

Downtown, Bleecker Street in the West Village is to many minds the hottest retail area right now for cutting-edge fashion. "The quality of the tenants going there has jumped in the last few years and others have followed, creating a real movement," says Bruce Sinder, president of Sinvin Realty. Both Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren have opened stores, with spaces in the area leasing at around $100 a square foot and in some cases going as high as $150 a square foot.

Sinder predicts that the Meat Packing District’s proximity will draw further attention to the area as shoppers and tourists discover the two locales in tandem.

"It’s smaller. It’s downtown. It’s hipper," says Sinder, "and it’s going to spread to the West Village because with the high-end designers coming to Bleecker, younger designers are going to nearby streets."

In SoHo, Sinder says there’s been a considerable turnaround, which he attributes to increased local and European tourists returning since Sept. 11 and landlords being more realistic with their prices. In northern SoHo, rents range from $150 to $200 a square foot, with rents below Spring in the south averaging between $75 and $100 a square foot. Sinder says he sees continued expansion below Spring and Broome as mainstream retailers begin to follow Bloomingdale’s and H& ’s lead.

On the other end of Broadway, Richard Hodos, president of Madison HGCD, says there’s reason to believe additional retail may sprout up out of the activity in Union Square and at the Broadway and Houston intersection. "It’s certainly on our radar screen," Hodos says.

The Lower East Side is more of a question mark and yet national retailers might soon discover it, Hodos says. Clearer is the retail picture in the Financial District, where Hodos says there’s a "paradigm shift" in white-collar jobs moving to the west side, away from the South Street Seaport and Fulton Street.

Retailers are still waiting to see how the Fulton Street Transit Center and the World Financial Center development project play out, and yet the picture is coming into sharper focus, Hodos says. Just this month, Hodos put out an RFP for the Moran’s and Hudson River Club spaces in the Winter Garden atrium in Battery Park City and he says he’s confident he’ll be able to select from among some of the top restaurateurs in the country.


Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.

[Pottebaum]

Clearer is the retail picture in the Financial District, where Hodos says there’s a "paradigm shift" in white-collar jobs moving to the west side, away from the South Street Seaport and Fulton Street.

Retailers are still waiting to see how the Fulton Street Transit Center and the World Financial Center development project play out, and yet the picture is coming into sharper focus, Hodos says. Just this month, Hodos put out an RFP for the Moran’s and Hudson River Club spaces in the Winter Garden atrium in Battery Park City and he says he’s confident he’ll be able to select from among some of the top restaurateurs in the country.


Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.

I don't really get this part; is the retail situation in the financial district (and the areas around it) look good, or worse?

[krulltime]

It is not that good. While it has some stores like retail shops, drugs stores and fast food kind of places it lacks high-end retailers, home furnishing stores and restaurant chains like other neighborhoods do or are begining to attract.

But as more housing is being built there then I think people who work there who usually empty the downtown and financial area at rush hours will gladdly find that it has become more like a 24 hour area and it will encorage a boost in retail when they decide to overstay or move to the area.

[krulltime]

Upper West Side Retail Creeps Upward


By Adelle Waldman
June 22, 2004

Once upon a time, Morningside Heights, near the 116th Street campus of Columbia University, was part of the great beyond, at least from a retail broker's perspective. But today, the character of the Upper West Side is creeping upwards, past the traditional 96th Street boundary, while Morningside Heights is moving down.

With the addition of large new condo buildings in between, the area "is becoming one big stretch," says Andrew Goldberg, an executive vice president at CB Richard Ellis.

The result? A rapidly changing retail climate.

Neighborhood supermarkets are the unlikely but illustrative nexus of the two areas, says Scott Edlitz, managing director of Robert K. Futterman & Associates. In recent months, there has been an exodus of traditional grocers, as high-end natural food purveyors have moved onto Broadway north of 96th Street.

"There's been a lot of shuffling around," he says.

Across the street from the Columbia gates, a swanky Morton Edwards opened its doors, while the West Side Market down the street closed its doors. Gourmet Garage has also opened for business on Broadway and 97th Street.

One factor prompting a retail upgrade is that new condo buildings offer big retail spaces on the ground floors, Goldberg says.

"Out go some of the older tenants and in come the nationals," he says.

Edlitz says retail rents in the neighborhood have not skyrocketed, but have risen at a rate consistent with other parts of the city, and are now in the range of $110 to $140 per square foot.

"But the quality and the credit of the tenants has gone up," he says.

One example: Two years ago, the New York Sports Club, Starbucks and Symphony Space moved into a large new space on Broadway and 94th that would have once been considered simply the edge of the Upper West Side. Now it's seen as mainstream, despite its northern location, brokers say.

Still, no one seems to be expecting the stretch of Broadway between 96th Street and Columbia to look like it does in the 70s and low 80s, dotted with stores such as The Gap, Victoria's Secret and Ann Taylor.

At this point, there doesn't seem to be a need for the fashion retailers that have set up shop farther south, Edlitz says. "You see more service types of businesses," he says.

But as Broadway becomes stronger, some destination retail tenants are considering spaces on Columbus Avenue past 96th Street, a territory that only recently was considered desirable, Edlitz says.

"There are fewer and fewer spaces on Broadway," he says. "It's a continuation of growth."


Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.

[billyblancoNYC]

This has been happening for years, but seems to be accelerating. As is gentrification in general. Soon, all of Manhattan will be "mainstream" or upscale. It just seems like a matter of time. Too many people, too little space. Hey, it's good for the rest of the city, too.

[krulltime]

I yet have to see what will happen to the other boroughs. Brooklyn seems to be the one where there are a couple of expensive neighborhoods already (Not like Manhattan of course)

The other day I was walking on the Avenues on Park Slope I think it was 7th or 8th and 4th and the area looks like it has some good retail hapening. It kinds of remind me what the upper west side use to look like 10 years ago. So I expect that the area will look much like the upper west side in a couple of years.

[billyblancoNYC]

I yet have to see what will happen to the other boroughs. Brooklyn seems to be the one where there are a couple of expensive neighborhoods already (Not like Manhattan of course)

The other day I was walking on the Avenues on Park Slope I think it was 7th or 8th and 4th and the area looks like it has some good retail hapening. It kinds of remind me what the upper west side use to look like 10 years ago. So I expect that the area will look much like the upper west side in a couple of years.

4th ave has been rezoned for 12 story residential. This and the Gowanus have been barriers in creating "one big swath" of great residential areas. Brooklyn will really take off with this, Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront, DT BK, and Atlantic Yards. There will probably be at least 10K units coming to just these areas. BK is very pricey right now and will only get more and more like "Manhattan East" over the next couple of years. Queens is already seeing some effects, as more people are moving to LIC, Astoria, Sunnyside, etc. Also, some Manhattanites (UWS in particular) have been drawn to cheap condos and co-ops in Jackson Heights. I think this will only accelerate as the city continues (hopefully) to be safe and clean. That's the key. NYC is 5-10 has the chance to be a lot better than it is today.

I would just like to see more artist housing being built b/c soon these pioneers will have no where to go.

[krulltime]

I would just like to see more artist housing being built b/c soon these pioneers will have no where to go.

Well in a way these pioneers (artist/actors) are a good thing once they move to another new neighborhood.

I know it is crazy what is happening in NYC lately with all of these neighborhoods changing (gentrifying) after the artists/actors had settle in but ironically it is good for those neighborhoods. They deserve a better image than just another area not to wander to.

NYC deserves a better image. I know I hear that people are being price out but they will also move to another new neighborhood and fill those gaps. I yet have to see the bronx taken off. Especially those areas were there are empty buildings and empty land.

[krulltime]

UWS Retail: Bed Bath & Beyond and Beyond


By Eric Marx
July 2004

Lincoln Square, the neighborhood surrounding the city's most prominent performing arts hub, tops many lists when observers look for success stories of large-scale urban renewal.

The shops, restaurants, television studios, movie theaters, and eight residential properties erected in the last three years all take their energy and vitality from Lincoln Center. That vindicates the city planners who 50 years ago conceived the largest performing arts institution in the world.

Now, a $325 million redevelopment project is reshaping Lincoln Center to help better integrate it into the surrounding community. Add the new Time Warner building and its more than 40 high-end shops at the southern tip of the neighborhood, and it's easy to see which direction area retail is headed.

"The per square footage rate is going to increase, which is going to make it hard for your neighborhood dry cleaner or liquor store," said Michael Goldenberg, executive director of sales for Halstead's West Side office. "You could soon see a Bendel's, a Tiffany's or a Sherry-Lehmann [wine shop] in Lincoln Square."

That day has yet to arrive, however, and for now residential buildings will continue to balance their projects on the backs of large national chain stores, as is the trend throughout most of the Upper West Side, Goldenberg added.

A 53,000 square foot Bed Bath & Beyond store is set to open shortly on the ground floor of the Grand Tier, a 232-unit rental building developed by Glenwood Management on the corner of 65th and Broadway.

Around the corner on 63rd Street, an additional 25,000 square feet of retail space will open in the old Empire Hotel, which is being converted into 125 luxury condominiums.

And at 43 West 64th Street, the newly remodeled O'Neal's Restaurant is opening on the ground floor of a recently converted luxury condo building developed by the Athena Group.

In contrast, over at Trump Place along the West Side Highway running from 59th to 72nd Streets - which is technically inside the Lincoln Square neighborhood - developers are trying to maintain a less intrusive retail environment.

"We're striving for smaller, exclusive service retail for the residents so that we don't have unnecessary deliveries and clatter and trash that comes along with larger scale retail," said Paul Davis, the chief executive officer of Hudson Waterfront Associates, the developer working with Donald Trump.

Of the two condos and three rentals now on the market, the condos have sold out, as have 92 percent of the rental units, which average $50 a square foot. The development's most expensive condo, at 72nd Street, is nearing completion (with 83 percent pre-sold) and another three buildings will rise over the next two years. Davis is forecasting another seven to eight years of construction, by which time there will be 17 waterfront buildings, 5,700 apartment units, 137,800 feet of retail space and a 21.5-acre park.

The speed with which the Trump buildings sold out speaks to the cachet of the neighborhood but is also a product of favorable interest rates and improved amenities, such as the newly remodeled 72nd Street subway station, said Goldenberg.

But at the heart of the growth is still the overarching influence of the Lincoln Center campus, which generates over $1 billion for the city's economy, said Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District.

Restaurants in the area typically draw in diners before a long night at Avery Fisher Hall, and Blum said she doesn't think that will change with the opening of the Time Warner Center. Not everyone may feel like removing themselves to those high-end restaurants, which for many are more a part of Midtown than they are Lincoln Square, she said.

Long-established stalwarts like Cafe Fiorello, Shun Lee West and O'Neal's are revamping, but high rents may deter any new restaurants opening along Broadway.

Chase Welles, a retail broker with Northwest Atlantic Real Estate who has done several local restaurant deals, said he expects the dining district to expand both north and south towards 72nd and 57th Streets.

"My opinion is side streets will run between $80 and $85 a square foot, and space in general between $60 and $175," he said. "I don't think rents will necessarily go higher because of the influence of Time Warner."

Resident Ann Cutbill Lenane, an executive vice president at Douglas Elliman, said Lincoln Square is a wonderful neighborhood in which to raise a family, given its close proximity to excellent schools, the park, a YMCA on 65th Street and of course, the cultural offerings of Lincoln Center. Lenane also applauded the retail offerings, such as the Bed Bath & Beyond store.

Still, other residents said they feared success would spoil the area. Many worry that the essential character of Lincoln Square as an arts hub will be obscured when it's overrun by shoppers and excessive traffic drawn to entertainment, restaurants, cafes and movie theatres.

It's the arcaded setbacks and extra wide sidewalks, along with the open feeling of the bow-tie intersections in the area that create a sense of intimacy, said Kate Wood, executive director of Landmark West, a 20-year-old organization that's been working to preserve the architectural heritage of the Upper West Side. She said that may be lost with the construction of the 29-story Grand Tier building at 1926 Broadway.

Community Board 8 successfully restricted a planned 150-car public garage in the Grand Tier, but while zoning calls for wider sidewalks and arcades in the area, the building predated the zoning and so the sidewalks aren't required to be as wide.

"Each individual development is taking more than it's giving back," lamented Wood.


Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.

[krulltime]

Fashion Center BID tries to lure retailers


by Louise Kramer
July 28, 2004

The Fashion Center Business Improvement District is trying to spiff up its image among retailers in an effort to lure high-profile stores and restaurants to the West Side neighborhood.

On Tuesday, the group’s newly formed retail committee staged its first event, holding a lunch for some two dozen retail real estate brokers to show off the district's charms. The attractions include more than 350,000 commuters who pass through the area daily, and 83,000 workers, many young and with a fashion sense.

The district stretches between Fifth and Ninth avenues and roughly from West 35th Street north to West 41st Street.

"We really want to upgrade the retail environment," says Robert Savitt, president of Kaufman/Adler Realty, the landlord representative for the building. "This area needs hipper, cooler spots."

The district has long had a frowsy image stemming from the manufacturing activity on its side streets. That has changed as manufacturing jobs have vanished over the past decades. Robert K. Futterman, chief executive of retail brokerage Robert K. Futterman & Associates, says the neighborhood is becoming more appealing to potential tenants, thanks in part to relatively low prices.

He notes that Times Square retail spaces fetch up to $500 per square foot, while those along West 34th Street are commanding rents of $300. The Fashion Center rents are near $150 per square foot, he says. "This is a real value," he says.

Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[krulltime]

Fifth fine for bear-building
Retail revival for 44th-49th sts.


BY LORE CROGHAN
DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER

The not-quite-sexy stretch of Fifth Avenue just north of Grand Central is getting a bear of a boost with the arrival of one of the nation's hottest retailers, Build-A-Bear Workshop.

The interactive toy shop — where customers make their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals — will build its first New York City store at 565 Fifth Ave. The 22,000-square-foot flagship will open next summer, replacing HMV Records, whose lease is expiring.

Four big retail sites on Fifth Avenue between 44th and 49th streets have been up for grabs for more than a year. Barnes & Noble and Sephora recently laid claim to two of the locations. Together with Build-A-Bear, they'll bring new energy to this part of the fabled shopping avenue — the part that's a bit too far south to be considered prime territory.

"On Fifth Avenue, 49th Street is historically the invisible line," said real estate broker Jedd Nero of CB Richard Ellis.

To the north, tourist draws St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center share Fifth Avenue with ultra-luxe brands like Cartier, Harry Winston, Versace and Prada.

To the south, more pedestrian shops like kids' clothier Oshkosh B'Gosh and office-supply store Staples predominate. But some high-voltage players are starting to show up.

North of 49th Street, rents are $750 per square foot and up. South of 49th, they're $200 to $250. South of 42nd, where Sean (P. Diddy) Combs is planning an emporium, rents drop again to about $150.

Chic sportswear brand Lacoste has moved to the "wrong" side of 49th Street. So has American Girl Place, a doll shop that, like Build-A-Bear, has an innovative store format.

This stretch of Fifth Avenue gets a full vote of confidence from Build-a-Bear founder Maxine Clark.

"We position ourselves where people shop and have a good time," she told the Daily News. "This is the perfect place."

Her new neighbor on the Avenue is expected to be Barnes & Noble. The bookseller is planning to rent 555 Fifth Ave., which The Wiz left vacant. If the deal is finalized, Barnes & Noble will probably close its nearby 600 Fifth store.

Upscale cosmetics retailer Sephora opened last month at another key site, in the landmarked Scribner building at 597 Fifth.

The last available flagship site is 529 Fifth, once occupied by Today's Man and now housing sculptures from the Big Apple Fest art project. Landlord Larry Silverstein recently hired CBRE broker Nero and partner Robert Gibson to market the space.

Build-A-Bear will give Fifth Avenue shoppers a new place to have a little fun. With the help of cheerful sales clerks, they'll pick out a stuffed-animal pelt and turn it into a personalized toy by adding a heart and voicebox, then stuff, fluff and dress it — finally writing a birth certificate.

The St. Louis-based chain has more than 160 U.S. stores. Seven are in suburbs close to Manhattan, but for Build-A-Bear fans, that's not good enough.

"We've gotten thousands of requests from New Yorkers to build a store in the city," Clark said.

Originally published on August 9, 2004


All contents © 2004 Daily News, L.P.

[krulltime]

Fulton Street Mall's image problem


Erik Engquist
Published on March 13, 2006

The Fulton Street Mall in downtown Brooklyn is a thriving center of commerce where throngs patronize a healthy balance of chain stores, independent shops and street vendors.

Yet among borough residents who don't shop there, negative views of the mall persist.

"They think of it as a dangerous place," says Vicki Weiner, a preservation specialist at the Pratt Center for Community Development. "Our research finds that it's not."

City Councilman Charles Barron says people believe the area is unsafe because many blacks and young people in hip-hop clothing frequent the mall. But crime statistics do not bear out those fears. "We have to deal with reality," he says, "not perception."

Some also view the mall as a strip of seedy 99-cent stores. In fact, there isn't a single one.

Now, as pricey developments spring up around the mall, neighborhood leaders want to head off any thoughts of replacing it. What the mall needs, a recent study found, is not a complete reconstruction, but enhancements, preservation and better marketing.

Urban planners at the Pratt Center and Minerva Partners determined that the culture of the mall is an asset and should be preserved.

"We don't think radical change is a great idea," says Ms. Weiner, a co-author of the report, which will be released this week. It recommends filling the many unused second floors of the mall with stores, restaurants, arts and cultural spaces, classrooms, offices and even some apartments.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

[BrooklynRider]

The Fulton Street Mall is just a dump. The street has music blaring the destroys any enjoyment one might find in simply strolling down the street. Side streets are barren, run down and uninviting. The stores are ugly, unappealing and, if not "99 cent" in pricing, they are certainly 99 cent in presentation. Restaurants are non-existent and the historic Gage and Tollner was turned into a Friday's. The Macy's, one of the very few national chains in the mall, is pure ghetto, and by "ghetto" I mean unkempt, in disarray, lousy service, second rate merchandise and some of the worst "big name" department store staff I've ever encountered. Overall Fulton Street is pretty horrendous and one of the most unpleasant shopping experiences in NYC. It is one of the reason's that Metrotech was built with its back to the mall. People working at Metrotech are not shopping at Fulton Street.

[MrSpice]

The Fulton Street Mall is just a dump. The street has music blaring the destroys any enjoyment one might find in simply strolling down the street. Side streets are barren, run down and uninviting. The stores are ugly, unappealing and, if not "99 cent" in pricing, they are certainly 99 cent in presentation. Restaurants are non-existent and the historic Gage and Tollner was turned into a Friday's. The Macy's, one of the very few national chains in the mall, is pure ghetto, and by "ghetto" I mean unkempt, in disarray, lousy service, second rate merchandise and some of the worst "big name" department store staff I've ever encountered. Overall Fulton Street is pretty horrendous and one of the most unpleasant shopping experiences in NYC. It is one of the reason's that Metrotech was built with its back to the mall. People working at Metrotech are not shopping at Fulton Street.

I agree with your comments overall. But I used to study in the area and know many people that do shop there. And many people shop at Macy's. I found that Macy's store to be OK - not great - but OK.

[bigkdc]

Does anyone have a sense as to what kind of new retail is planned for the west soho/hudson square area? I would assume with all of the new high-end residential development going on in the area that lots of retail would follow.

I think I read somewhere that Home Depot was thinking of opening a store in that area and that Whole Foods is going to open in North Tribeca.

[lofter1]

Whole Foods to open at Site 5B ( http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=88620&postcount=147 ) at Greenwich / Warren, many blocks downtown from Hudson Square.

[krulltime]

Atlas Park opens for biz


http://queenscourier.com/content/articles/2006/05/01/headline_news/news01.jpg
Atlas Park Shopping Center Opens


BY PETE DAVIS
Thursday, April 27, 2006

When Patty O'Connor opens the doors to her store Crazy for Animals — a pet boutique carrying stylish accessories including leashes, jewelry and clothes — April 27, she will be fulfilling a dream she believes will only continue to get better.

After months of preparation recruiting stores and businesses, The Shops at Atlas Park — New York's first-ever lifestyle retail center — will officially open for business tonight, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony with retailers and Councilwoman Melinda Katz.

The Glendale shopping center, which will have 14 retailers opening that night with many more expected to open in the upcoming months, is expected to provide Glendale residents with many more local and convenient shopping alternatives.

“We are delighted to see our vision — providing Queens residents and visitors with the finest urban retailing experience possible — come to fruition,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, President of Atco Properties & Management, the developer of The Shops at Atlas Park. “It is our hope that The Shops at Atlas Park will be a vibrant destination for the community to meet, dine and, of course, shop for many years to come.”

As The Shops at Atlas Park begins to open, reactions in the community appear to be positive about what it will bring to the neighborhood. “The shops are going to be great,” said Kathy Masi, President of the Glendale Civic Association. “It's a wonderful economic situation for Queens.”

“Everyone is pretty excited, but nobody knows what to really expect,” said Werner Lehner, owner of Zum Stammtisch Restaurant in Glendale and President of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce. “It's been a good response so far, but people are mainly concerned with traffic issues.”

In addition to traffic concerns, some neighboring commercial areas are worried about how the new shops will affect their businesses.

“In the Myrtle Avenue commercial district, there is concern about the impact that the shops will have on it,” said Ted Renz, Executive Director of the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District. “People that are shopping on Myrtle Avenue may decide to go there [to The Shops at Atlas Park].”

On Thursday, April 27, 14 retailers are scheduled to debut, including fashion boutique Stein Mart, White House/Black Market, Marmi, Aerosoles, Gymboree, Stella Gialla, Jos. A. Bank, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, J. Jill, Crazy for Animals, Claire's, Fine Art Gallery and Orange, a caf'e and bar, with many others slated to open throughout the summer and into the fall.

“If we can't make it here, we can't make it anywhere,” O'Connor said. “I think this will be the start of something that will allow us to grow to even more stores.”

Marmi, a women's shoe store that specializes in stylish shoes in hard-to-fit sizes, has 33 national locations, including one on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, and has already generated great interest for their new store.

“Over the last two days, we have received over 100 phone calls asking when we were going to open up,” said Don Hall, Vice President of Retail for Marmi.

O'Connor believes that The Shops at Atlas Park will provide an experience for shoppers and businesses owner that they cannot receive elsewhere.

“It's not the typical mall setting,” she said. “I think people are going to enjoy walking in and out of the shops, and you have the opportunity to capture the whole audience.”

When all of the tenants finish moving into their locations, the area will have more than 50 shops and generate nearly 1,200 new jobs for the community.


HOW TO GET THERE

Directions from Flushing, College Point, and the Whitestone Bridge:

Take the Van Wyck Expressway South

Take the Jackie Robinson Parkway West

Get off at the 80th Street exit; turn Right at the

bottom of the ramp, then Right onto Metropolitan, then take an immediate Left onto 80th Street North.

Entrance to The Shops at Atlas Park is on

80th Street between 77th Avenue and Cooper Avenue.


http://www.therealdeal.net//breaking_news/2006/05/01/images/5214.jpg
Aerial rendering of the Shops at Atlas Park


Copyright © 2006 The Queens Courier

[krulltime]

East 23rd Street shifts gears, eyes retail upgrade
Residential conversions and new business improvement district to help shopping strip


By Lisa Selin Davis
April 2006 Issue

A neighborhood's fortunes can be gauged by the kind of shopping that happens in its stores. For an example of a change for the better, look no further than East 23rd Street, one of Manhattan's most heavily trafficked retail corridors. Fast food joints stand beside the occasional posh bar, and $10 clothing stores butt up against designer fashion outlets.

East of bustling Chelsea and north of stately Gramercy Park, the corridor has lagged behind hipper areas in its retail offerings. But as condo conversions blossom around Madison Square Park and a new Business Improvement District comes closer to fruition, the neighborhood is growing up.

The East 23rd Street retail stretch serves businesses such as Credit Suisse First Boston on Madison Square Park, and further east, caters to students at the School of Visual Arts and CUNY's Baruch College. Over the years, the side streets to the south in the area have attracted furniture showrooms and restaurants.

Brokers say the area is trying to extend its appeal beyond local students and office workers, and getting more of a weekend crowd.

"You might have thought of this as a five-day neighborhood," says Robin Abrams, executive vice president of the Lansco Corp., which specializes in commercial leasing and consulting. "But now, if you walk around on the weekends, it's pretty vibrant and it's pretty busy. It's become a seven-day-a-week neighborhood."

Chain stores, including Home Depot, have raised the profile of national retailers just west of Fifth Avenue, and that's pulled in banks, bars, and restaurants. Madison Square Park got a massive facelift in 2001, spurring the reinvigoration of the area.

The shift is exemplified by local bars like Speak, on East 23rd between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, which opened in the fall of 2005. It sits on the former home of Teddy Red's, a rough and tumble joint that appealed to a younger demographic.

"They mostly had the NYU crowd, 21- to 25-year-olds," says Sunkul Soni, Speak's manager. "Now we get corporate clients from Credit Suisse and models from Elite," which has its offices at 111 East 22nd Street.

The swing from students to supermodels could be accelerated by the explosion of high-end residential development in the area. One Madison Avenue, purchased last year by SL Green Realty Trust, is going condo in a project the company is undertaking in partnership with hip hotelier Ian Schrager.

Nearby, the Gift Building's 12 stories are going residential, as are the 1.2 million square feet of the International Toy Center, which was home to the toy industry for more than 50 years. And new construction is rising along with conversions: a luxury 50-unit building at 158 Madison Avenue by Thorwood Real Estate, a partnership between Buttonwood and Thor Equities, is in construction, for example. "Every time I walk down the street and I see a bunch of low-rise buildings, I say that's going to be a luxury condo at some point in time," says Mark Stein, senior vice president and director of leasing for Meringoff Properties.

As high-end residential moves in, one obstacle the 23rd Street corridor must overcome is poor sanitation, says Sharon Ullman, president of the 23rd Street Association, which has been working with the city's Department of Small Business Services to negotiate a Business Improvement District for the area, to be called the Flatiron 23rd Street Partnership.

"The number one complaint we get is that the district is dirty," says Ullman. "It's because we have the big-box stores and because we have high-end retail, and because we have a lot of residential on the periphery, that there's so much more traffic and so much more dirt. If you're on the corner of 23rd and Park Avenue South, you're almost up to your ankles in garbage."

The main services of a Business Improvement District will be additional sanitation, security, and marketing for the area. "The largest piece will be sanitation," Ullman says.

Mayor Bloomberg signed off on the BID in December, and a certificate of incorporation is going around to business owners now to be signed. The BID is expected to be funded with a $1.5 million annual budget by July and will start services as early as September.

While the improvement district of 1,376 buildings and 4,927 businesses will provide extra sanitation and security, it won't mitigate other problems.

"What we'll probably need to come in will be service-oriented businesses, like supermarkets, dry cleaners, locksmith, shoe repair," Ullman says. Still, she's not worried about the dearth of such businesses now. "The more residential that builds out, the more services will come."

But some worry if such shops can afford to move to an area increasingly geared toward more high-end residential.

Abrams of Lansco says commercial rents in the larger Flatiron District in general are quite variable; some could be well below $100 per square foot, while others might climb as high as $400.

"There's no rule of thumb," she says. "Some blocks with fast food and icky stuff could be $80." Even if rent rates vary, space is in high demand. "There's not a heck of a lot that comes available often. And when it does, there's a lot of competition."

Stein agrees. "Before the space is empty," he says, "we're getting offers and requests to see space from brokers."

If small businesses are in danger of getting the boot in favor of higher-paying tenants, though, neither Stein nor Abrams have come across it. But they acknowledge the flavor of the neighborhood has changed, and some small businesses are packing up.

"A lot of that stuff disappeared over the last few years as the high-profile tenants have come in," Abrams says, but asserts that most landlords won't be holding out to try and get higher rents. "If they have a good opportunity for a tenant, they won't sit on a space thinking values will increase."

Ullman says almost every business embraced the idea of the BID -- the city requires that 51 percent of local businesses agree before a BID can be formed -- and everyone agrees it will help redefine the 23rd Street corridor, and prepare it for its conversion. "The BID," Stein says, "is a real estate public relations machine for the area."


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

[pianoman11686]

But Will It Play in Manhattan?
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At Topshop in London, the merchandise is extensive, and ever-changing thanks to the company's strategy of refreshing supply lines every few weeks.

By RUTH LA FERLA

Published: June 21, 2006

Ticking off the days before her departure for London last month, Victoria Thompson, a news associate at CBS, checked her itinerary. The National Gallery, for sure, she said, and maybe the Serpentine, another gallery. But also on the don't-miss list was Topshop, the cavernous fashion emporium in Oxford Circus that has become a mecca for disposable chic.

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Topshop's flagship store in London has thousands of square feet of fashions.

When they visit London, Ms. Thompson and her sister, Antonia, prowl the store for the stovepipe jeans, bubble skirts and granny boots and the Stella McCartney and Marni look-alikes that they scoop up by the armload. "My wardrobe is largely Topshop-based," Antonia Thompson confided. "I cannot wait for the day that the store is here."

She may get her wish. Philip Green, whose company, the Arcadia Group, owns Topshop along with several other British retailers, was in New York in late April to scout a site for a New York flagship. The store could open as early as next spring.

With their sensitive fashion antennas and tight grips on their purse strings, the Thompsons, both in their 20's, represent the kind of American consumer Topshop plans to court: knowledgeable and demanding, with a near insatiable appetite for novelty and a bargain.

Topshop feeds that appetite with multiple daily deliveries that capitalize on a stepped-up fashion cycle, in which new trends emerge and reach stores within weeks, not months, of their debut on runways.

The chain is not the first to offer those attractions. Its chief European-based rivals — Zara, Mexx, Mango and H&M Hennes & Mauritz, which already have branches in the United States — also sell inexpensive, fresh-looking fashion. But Topshop offers a wider selection of cutting-edge styles, clothing that is better made, though somewhat more costly, than its competitors.

The proposed New York store would be 60,000 to 90,000 square feet, Mr. Green told reporters in April, a fashion outpost on a scale unmatched in any American city by any specialty clothing store.

The Oxford Circus flagship is a four-level, 90,000-square-foot behemoth that draws an average of 28,000 people a day, more than half of whom buy something. That is eye-popping when one considers that Bloomingdale's, which sells more than just fashion, gets 45,000 visitors a day in a space more than 10 times that size.

Mr. Green and Jane Shepherdson, the brand director for Topshop, have been somewhat reticent about their plans. But they have made no secret of their endgame: to turn Topshop — which across Europe operates about 290 stores, and an additional 165 Topman stores, as well as 30 franchised stores — into a global brand.

The venture is risky, Ms. Shepherdson acknowledged. "I'm not at all sure that there is a truly global merchandise mix, and I'm also not sure that Topshop is a global brand," she said. "But I think that certain markets have a lot of similarities."

Both New York and London, she said, "have a real love of fashion and a very demanding customer base that wants something new all the time."

To succeed in New York, Topshop needs to replicate the heady experience of the hunt at the Oxford Circus store. That store is in the most heavily trafficked shopping district in London, an area that is home to Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, John Lewis, Boots and a string of specialty shops.

Finding a suitable location in New York is crucial. Ideally, it would be in a popular shopping area like Herald Square or near Bloomingdale's at the intersection of 59th Street and Lexington. And making sure Topshop can duplicate the Oxford Circus experience requires overcoming an "enormous number of logistical challenges," Ms. Shepherdson said. Topshop may even consider hiring its own cargo plane to ensure a flow of merchandise that can keep pace with the London operation.

At peak shopping periods, the Topshop at Oxford Circus ferries in goods by the truckload, with two to three deliveries of fresh merchandise a day and 7,000 distinct looks each season. It operates on the models of Zara and H&M, which refresh supply lines every other week, in striking contrast to mass merchants like Gap, which operates on a cycle of 10 weeks or more.

Like those mass merchants, Topshop's manufacturing is mostly done abroad, about 25 percent in China, 10 percent in Mauritius, 5 percent in India. Much of the rest comes from European factories.

Ms. Shepherdson said Topshop was able to move so quickly because its orders were much smaller than other retailers' and its manufacturers were "prepared to be very flexible." In addition, she said, "our internal processes are streamlined, and the decision-making is fast and direct."

A thrumming emporium that boasts its own radio station and regularly stages its own runway shows, the London flagship generates sales approaching $200 million a year, or more than $2,000 a square foot, the company said, double the average sales at other Topshop branches. Total sales for the chain from the third quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2005 were about $922 million.

Despite all the retailers already in the United States, the store would arrive in New York at an opportune moment, poised to make the most of a definitive shift in the way that many Americans shop. At one time, it was the norm for consumers to return consistently to the same handful of stores that catered to their style and budget.

Today, by contrast, "no one owns a customer anymore; everyone shops everywhere," said Howard Davidowitz, the chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting firm. "And nobody minds mixing cheaper things with more expensive ones."

Indeed, among those who can afford it, it has become a commonplace to accessorize say, a $30 Luella Bartley dress from Target with a $1,450 handbag from Chloé or Fendi, the European luxury brands.

That openness to shopping in a variety of stores has been a boon for specialty retailers like H&M and Mexx, whose sales grew more than 7 percent from April 2005 to April 2006, according to the NPD Group, which tracks consumer spending patterns. In contrast, department store apparel sales were essentially flat in the same period.

Topshop plays to — and feeds — the fashion speed-up. "At no time in memory have we seen such an accelerated fashion cycle," said Robert Burke, a retail consultant in New York, whose clients include Bergdorf Goodman.

Ms. Shepherdson, who has been widely credited as the marketing wizard behind Topshop, insists on the multiple daily deliveries. By keeping manufacturing runs limited, Topshop has created what Ms. Shepherdson calls a "dynamic of desperation," that has customers feverishly zooming in on sought-after items, enticing them to visit all the time.

Some merchandise, though in plentiful supply at the time the store opens, tend to vanish by midday. The kaleidoscopic assortment is pitched to a 16- to 34-year-old urban woman. New shipments generate a frenzy much like the one at an H&M store in Manhattan last November, when customers lined up hours before opening time for a chance to buy a limited-edition bargain-priced trench coat or oversize sweaters designed by Stella McCartney. They picked the racks clean within hours.

Topshop appears willing to accept somewhat lower profits to achieve its goals. Mr. Davidowitz said he was not sure what Topshop's profit margins were but estimated them at about 7 to 8 percent, after all costs and before taxes. He compared this with H&M, which makes about 15 percent, and Abercrombie & Fitch, which makes 20 percent.

Though comparisons with H&M are inevitable, the two chains differ in telling ways. It is difficult, retail experts say, to compete with the sheer depth and breadth of merchandise at Topshop's London flagship. Even Topshop itself does not try: it dwarfs other stores in the chain, which average about 17,000 square feet.

To gain some idea of its scale and scope, "you have to imagine the total main floor of Macy's in Herald Square filled with a never-ending assortment of terrific, fresh fast fashion," said Arnold Aronson, the managing director of retail strategies at Kurt Salmon Associates, a consulting firm in New York.

The London flagship sells capsule collections from well-known and emerging British designers like Zandra Rhodes, Emma Cook and Jonathan Saunders, as well as the progressive Unique line, conceived by a team of internal designers.

The store also offers a maternity collection with its own entrance on Regents Street, tall and petites shops, a lingerie department and an entire floor dedicated to vintage fashions. There is the Topman men's shop and a children's line, Topshop mini.

And its services go beyond providing up-to-the-minute clothes. Topshop workers even deliver purchases by scooter to shoppers' homes, and a team of style advisers helps customers mix and match $70 capri pants and $20 T-shirts. It plans to offer similar handholding in New York.

Topshop's rivals say that they can hold their own against its expansion. "Our philosophy has always been to have fashion and quality and the best price," said Sanna Lindberg, the president of American operations for H&M. "I think we will continue to be popular even if Topshop shows up. They would just be another player."

To acquaint Americans with its wares, Topshop plans to expand its Web site in September, offering about 800 styles, or all of what is available in its London stores. The chain has already wiggled a toe in New York's retail waters, introducing a shop within a shop in partnership with Opening Ceremony, a boutique in downtown Manhattan.

Topshop's entering New York "will be a very big deal," Mr. Davidowitz, the retail consultant, predicted. "This would really be a powerhouse that would impact every fashion retailer in New York."

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[krulltime]

Fifth Avenue named priciest retail spot
Asking rents for the famed shopping corridor, which runs from 49th to 59th streets, surged 21% from a year ago to a record $1,250 per square foot in September.


December 13. 2007
By: Kira Bindrim

Manhattan’s top luxury retail corridor along Fifth Ave. remains the most expensive retail strip in Manhattan, according to a recent report.

Asking rents for the famed shopping corridor, which runs from 49th to 59th streets, surged 21% from a year ago to a record $1,250 per square foot in September, according to a report released Thursday by the Real Estate Board of New York.

“Rising tourism, a weak U.S. dollar compared to foreign currency, and the overall eagerness of European retailers to establish a presence in New York, have all contributed to the rising asking rents for retail space in that area and throughout the borough, REBNY President Steven Spinola said in a statement.

Overall, average asking rent for Manhattan retail locations increased 26% to $133 per square foot in September.

An average 1,000-square-foot storefront along Fifth Avenue’s “golden corridor” would run a retailer about $1.5 million a year, Manhattan-based Cushman & Wakefield said in a report last month.

According to REBNY’s report, rents in the Broadway shopping area, between 42nd and 47th streets, saw the biggest jump, more than doubling to $797 per square foot. The second-highest increase was for the area on Broadway from Battery Park to Chambers Street, where asking rents increased 88% to $301 per square foot.

Indeed, sky-high midtown rents and a renaissance downtown have attracted an increasing number of commercial tenants. Average asking rents downtown increased 18% to $109 per square foot, marking the first time rents downtown have crossed the $100 mark.


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