Faith Hope Consolo

“Don’t hold your breath for a Tiffany’s unit or the next Saks Fifth Avenue” at the revamped Fulton Street Mall, Prudential Douglas Elliman retail queen Faith Hope Consolo wrote in a Brooklyn Paper op-ed today.
While the retail corridor is indeed undergoing a major transformation, “cheap chic” (see: H&M, Aeropostale and Filene’s Basement/SYMS) is what’s en vogue for Downtown Brooklyn right now, she said. “More realistically, Fulton Mall has begun to mirror such successful corridors as West 34th Street and East 14th Street/Union Square,” Consolo argued. “You could also say it’s Brooklyn’s answer to Fordham Road.” And perhaps, as new restaurants start to move in to feed hungry shoppers, “the next Smith Street.” [Brooklyn Paper]

Harlem’s H&M will celebrate its reopening tomorrow morning, after
five months of interior and exterior renovations, according to Racked.
The grand reopening will be freebie-heavy, with complementary T-shirts
for the first 200 shoppers and gift cards with values ranging from $10
to $300. The store, which sits on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox
Avenue, now has an entirely new facade, which should defray some of the
architectural criticism lodged at the retailer in the past. [Curbed]

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From left: Pret A Manger is moving in on the corner of 29th Street and Seventh Avenue and Fresh & Co. is a recent addition to the neighborhood on the corner of 30th Street and Seventh Avenue

Once thought of as a transit hub for travelers moving in and out of Penn Station, a strip of Seventh Avenue is slowly gaining retailer clout. Brokers say the stretch of retail from 29th to 34th streets is improving because of shifting real estate values, large development projects on the horizon and the influence of one property owner: Vornado Realty Trust. In the last few months, the quality of retailers in the area appears to have shifted. Fresh & Co., an upscale — primarily lunch — eatery, opened several months ago at the corner of 30th Street and Seventh Avenue. Pret A Manger, meanwhile, has plywood up on the corner of West 29th Street. And, within a couple of months after Supermac macaroni and cheese joint’s closing last November, a new vegan sit-down restaurant opened in the location on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th streets. And, as these high-end eateries crop up, some retail experts say that the neighborhood is turning a corner. [more]