Source: Center for an Urban Future

The uncertain economy may be finally catching up with chain stores in New York City, according to a study released today by the Center of an Urban Future. For the first time in the four-year history of the center’s annual study, the growth of chain stores in the city has slowed.

The number of national retail stores grew by 1.6 percent over the past year, as the 307 retailers included in last year’s ranking expanded to 6,994 stores in 2011 from a total of 6,883 stores in 2010, the study shows. But a 1.6 percent increase is far below the 4 percent rate of growth in chain stores between 2009 and 2010. — Katherine Clarke [more]

For the third year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts has come out on top amongst national retailers in New York City, with 466 store locations across the five boroughs, up from 429 last year and 341 in 2008, according to a new ranking from the Center for an Urban Future, out today. Subway came in second with 389 stores and Starbucks came in a distant third, with 256. (Starbucks still beats Dunkin’ Donuts in Manhattan, though, with 194 to its 115 stores). On the whole, the survey found that national retailers have increased their presence in New York City this year in spite of still-sluggish consumer spending; they have an average of 4.1 percent more stores here now than they did a year ago. For more survey results and rankings of the top national retailers in New York City by borough and zip code, click here. TRD [more]

Jason Pennington of Ripco Real Estate

From the February issue: Mayor Bloomberg may have declared war on high-calorie, sodium-filled diets, but New York City’s landlords seem to think fast-food joints are good for their health — their fiscal health, that is. Fast-food restaurants are under construction all over the city, gearing up to serve greasy burgers, fried chicken and burritos, as well as accompanying sugary sodas, which the Bloomberg administration portrayed as globs of fat in a glass in a recent public awareness campaign. In this tough retail climate, food and beverage leases in the city are rising faster than any other category. While they generally make up the largest portion of leases on The Real Deal‘s monthly Deal Sheet, last month the category saw 19 deals for over 70,000 square feet of retail space. That’s more than double the second most active category: fashion. And the greasy diet that landlords have signed up for is, in many cases, long-term, with 10- and 15-year leases.  [more]

More than four dozen national chain retailers have taken advantage of low rents to expand in New York City over the past year, according to Bloomberg’s Patricia Wu. Some of the stores with the most significant expansion plans include Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, McDonald’s and Starbucks. Jonathan Bowles of the Center for an Urban Future said those stores have had deep enough pockets to survive the recession so far and see it as an opportunity to expand. But Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said he is not seeing this kind of retail expansion outside of New York. [more]

Thirty percent of top national retailers expanded their presence in New York City over the last year, according to an annual report released by the Center for an Urban Future today. The report, which tracks 277 retailers with two or more stores in the city, looks at data from July 2008 through July 2009. In addition to the 30 percent of retailers that expanded despite the poor economy, 30 percent of the stores listed maintained the same number of locations they had in the five boroughs the year before.

TRD [more]