Retail at 420 Fifth Avenue reaches full occupancy

The 72,000-square-foot retail space at 420 Fifth Avenue, which struggled with low rents and a dearth of tenants during the recession, has reached full occupancy, with sports equipment store Golfsmith International Holdings taking the last remaining space, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Heritage Realty, the 28-story building’s landlord, had initially tried to secure a single anchor tenant, but changed its strategy in the wake of the financial crisis. The company decided to divide the site into three portions and plugged $4.7 million into renovations and property improvements, including new elevators and electrical systems. CVS Pharmacy and Reebok CrossFit inked deals with the landlord earlier this year, and this month Golfsmith filled the last remaining vacancy in a 14,452-square-foot deal.

The average rent among the three tenants is currently over $100 per square foot, more than three times the $30 average rent paid by CompUSA, the electronics company that was the space’s previous anchor tenant. [WSJ] – Hiten Samtani