Elie Hirschfeld

Elie Hirschfeld is the president and CEO of Hirschfeld Properties, where he worked with his late father, parking garage titan Abraham Hirschfeld, for more than 20 years. A triathlete and an avid theatergoer (he’s been a voter in the Tony Awards every year since 1996), Elie Hirschfeld and his company were behind such projects as New York’s first open-air garage, the Hotel Pennsylvania and the Manhattan Mall. This week, The Real Deal talked to the developer, who is reportedly worth more than half a billion dollars (he wouldn’t comment on his wealth), about his portfolio, the Hamptons home he’s selling, the shocking scandal that rocked his family, and the Hirschfeld legacy.
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From the August issue: For more than a century, Tribeca was a de facto pantry, as its
industrial blocks warehoused fruit, spices, vegetables, and most
notably, butter and eggs.
But starting in the 1960s, the Downtown neighborhood — which is
bounded by Canal Street, Broadway, the former World Trade Center site
and the Hudson River — began to give up its perishable goods for
people, in a profound way. Brick and Beaux Arts lofts located along
wide cobblestone streets began to be converted into apartments.
In fact, those historic buildings, which sit in the 10007 and 10013
zip codes, became some of the priciest homes in New York City.
But since the downturn hit, the real estate market in Tribeca has
been in serious trouble. According to sales figures, the area appears
to be in far worse shape than many other comparable neighborhoods. [more]

From the July issue: Nearly a dozen retail vacancies dot
Broadway between Houston Street and
Astor Place. In recent years of economic excess, the strip languished
in the shopping shadow of its neighbors — trendy Soho to the south and
bustling Union Square to the north.
But in today’s sagging economy, Noho, with its rents half the price
of areas like Soho, could draw new retail blood such as apparel
tenants, gourmet markets, and European brands that would have
previously turned their noses up at the area, brokers said. Still, the
economy and bleak national retail picture are stalling the
neighborhood’s resurgence. Due to market conditions, “so many retailers
have pulled back,”
said Jeffrey Roseman, a principal and executive vice president at
Newmark Knight Frank Retail. [more]

Times Square (left) and the Flatiron District

The average asking rent for all available retail space in Manhattan
fell 11
percent between fall 2008 and spring 2009, the first meaningful decline
since September 11, 2001, according to the Real Estate Board of New
York’s spring 2009 retail report. Some areas, however, saw rents increase. Ground-floor average asking rents
in Times Square increased
71 percent between spring 2009 and the same time last year. The average asking rent in the area — on Broadway and Seventh Avenue, between 42nd and
47th streets — where Forever 21 and American Eagle are opening,
reached $1,381 per square foot this spring, up from $809 during the
same time last year. The median asking rent jumped 79 percent, to
$1,450 a foot from $809. TRD

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 The former Kira Plastinina space on Broadway (left) has been rented, while the Satellite space on West Broadway (right) is on the market

Shuttered stores on Broadway and West Broadway in Soho mean very different things, retail brokers say. On Broadway, between Canal and Houston streets, most of the shuttered
stores are currently being renovated and new tenants are moving in,
while on the same stretch of five blocks on West Broadway, the closed
stores are seeing little activity. Retail brokers say Broadway has had several new deals in the past few months. In addition to Escada taking Ann Taylor’s space at 560 Broadway and Bebe leasing the former Staples space
at 488 Broadway, a Spanish apparel company recently signed to take over
Kira Plastinina’s store at 594 Broadway. And off the avenue on Prince
Street, a menswear designer just signed for a space, according to Karen
Bellantoni, an executive vice president at Robert K. Futterman & Associates. [more]