REBNY REPORT: RETAIL REVIVAL FOR
DOWNTOWN AND NORTHERN MANHATTAN AS RENTS SOAR
--Asking
rents for Lower Broadway storefronts between
Battery
Park and Chambers St. up 45%; Broadway strip in SoHo up 31%--
--Northern
Manhattan retail rents surge 38%--
NEW YORK, NY, May
11, 2005 – Retail rents for major corridors Downtown and Northern Manhattan
surged in the last six months with asking rents for ground floor space climbing
45% for a major Downtown corridor and 38% in Northern Manhattan, according to
The Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) Spring Retail Report.
The retail corridor on Broadway between Battery Park and Chambers Street
saw the average asking rent for ground floor space rise 45% to $126 per square
foot, while SoHo’s main strip, Broadway between Houston and Broome, had a rent
surge of 31% to $212 per square foot.
The median asking rent for the Broadway corridor in SoHo rose 46% to
$226.
In Northern Manhattan, rents for the 125th Street corridor from
river to river jumped 38% to $90 per square foot, the largest increase yet for
the neighborhood since REBNY began tracking this corridor.
“The future of Lower Manhattan has dominated the news in the last few
weeks. The surge in asking rents for lower Broadway is a positive sign that
clearly demonstrates retailers’ renewed confidence in the neighborhood, which
is undergoing a major retail revival.
The surge in retail rents Downtown bodes well for the future of Lower
Manhattan,” said Steven Spinola, REBNY President. “Retail rents in Northern Manhattan’s 125th
Street corridor have also been strong.
With an influx of major retailers and the surge in asking rents
reflected in this report, it is clear that more retailers are considering it
one of Manhattan’s prime retail spots,” he added.
The report also recorded the following findings:
- The ground floor asking rent on Fifth Avenue
between 14th and 23rd streets in Flatiron was up 38%
to an average of $189 per square foot.
Market area asking rents, which surveys all
available retail space, also experienced gains:
- Overall Manhattan average asking rent for all
space rose 6% to $103 per square foot.
- Downtown average asking rent for all space
increased 14% to $82 per square foot.
- The West Side saw a 13% increase in average
asking rents for all space to $127 per square foot.
- The East Side had a 4% increase to $160 per
square foot.
"The retail market in New York City is
extremely strong. There is a lot of
activity, and asking rents are aggressive due to competition for the prime
space -- primarily from the Bank tenants.
Space in SoHo, the Meatpacking District, Union Square, 34th
Street, Times Square, the Plaza District and other areas continues to be in
demand as the national chains and the international tenants who were exploring
the market are now confident enough to commit for space," said Robin
Abrams, executive vice president of The Lansco Corporation and co-chair of
REBNY’s retail committee.
About the REBNY
Retail Report
The REBNY Retail Report is issued twice a year in the spring and fall by
the REBNY Stores Committee. Findings
are reviewed by an advisory group that distills and analyzes the data. The report provides comprehensive
information about available retail space and asking rents in Manhattan from a
broad cross section of the city’s top real estate firms. The report presents all available data on
retail space by geographic area and focuses on the ground floor space on the
major retail streets. It provides an
objective and reliable source for discerning market trends.
Space information has been provided on a confidential basis by REBNY
member firms including: Abrams Realty
Corp, Bernstein Real Estate, CBRE Retail Services NY Tri-State Region, Grubb
& Ellis New York Inc., Madison HGCD, LLC, Murray Hill Properties, Newmark
New Spectrum Retail, LLC, PBS Realty Advisors, Robert K. Futterman &
Associates, LLC, Rose Associates, Inc., The Lansco Corp., W & M Properties,
LLC.
About REBNY
As the oldest and most influential real estate trade
association in New York City, The Real Estate Board of New York represents
major commercial and residential property owners and builders, brokers and
managers, banks, financial service companies, utilities, attorneys, architects,
contractors and other individuals and institutions professionally interested in
the City’s real estate. REBNY is
involved in crucial municipal matters including tax policy, city planning and
zoning, rental conditions, land use policy, building codes and
legislation. In addition, REBNY
publishes reports providing indicators of market prices for both the
residential and commercial sectors.
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**Members of the media
can contact Cara Marino at The Marino Organization at (212) 889-0808 for a copy
of the Spring Retail Report.