Macy's
New York City’s very first “stealth” Starbucks location is set to come to the under-renovation Macy’s Herald Square flagship, New York Magazine reported. However, the opening date of the café, called Herald Square Café, has yet to be announced.
Also known as “non-branded” or “mercantile” Starbucks cafes, the adjective means the location is owned by Starbucks, but the café does not don the chain’s logo, or feature its typical product selection and interior design. [more]
Two of the three largest retail leases in New York City last year were in the Bronx — Macy’s new space for 160,000 square feet at the Mall at Bay Plaza, in the Pelham Gardens area, and a 74,000-square-foot transaction for Burlington Coat Factory at River Avenue and Exterior Street, according to figures from The Real Deal‘s 2012 Data Book. Meanwhile, the largest Manhattan leases were for upscale retailer Century 21, at 22 Cortland Street in Lower Manhattan, and FAO Schwarz’s 767 Fifth Avenue store, at 59th Street. See the complete chart after the jump. Click here, or on the link at the bottom of the site, to purchase a copy of the 2012 Data Book. [more]
From the December issue: Manhattan’s department stores are under siege, as shoppers increasingly choose to go online rather than brave the city crowds. Last year, over $15 billion was spent in online shopping during the holiday shopping season, according to the digital research firm comScore, and that figure is expected to jump by as much as 15 percent in 2011.
In response to that and mega-stores like Uniqlo and Top Shop opening throughout the city, old-school department stores — like Saks, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Barneys and Lord & Taylor — have effectively doubled down, upgrading stores to the tune of a half-billion dollars. Indeed, last month Macy’s announced a planned $400 million renovation to its Herald Square flagship.
Over the past few years, department store sales have fallen nationwide, forcing these stalwarts to fight over a smaller share of the pie. As a result, sources say, when one store upgrades, it often creates a “copycat” effect among others who are fearful of looking dated. [more]
Hidrock Realty has secured $66 million in construction loans for its two Fashion District hotel projects — at 960 Sixth Avenue and 25 West 37th Street — the developer announced earlier this week.
Hidrock purchased the note for 960 Sixth Avenue, also called the Atlantic Bank building, from Societe Generale for $40 million in October 2009, according to published reports. The company foreclosed on the 35th Street office building, which by then had only one tenant, in August 2010. Previous owner Statuto Group had planned a residential conversion for the site, and Hidrock had considered a mixed-use space including offices, but in the end a hotel was the most lucrative venture, said Hidrock’s president, Abraham Hidary.
The developer now plans a Courtyard Marriott at the address, for which it just closed on $36 million in construction financing from BBVA Compass. The hotel, across the street from Macy’s Herald Square
flagship, will boast 167 rooms, a rooftop bar and retail, and should be completed by October 2012. The total cost of the conversion will be around $30 million, Hidary said. [more]
Macy’s has inked a lease for 160,000 square feet at the Mall at Bay Plaza, a site under construction at the Bronx’s Bay Plaza Shopping Center slated to open in 2014, Crain’s reported. Macy’s will take up three floors at the development, by Prestige Porperties, connecting to an existing 150,000-square-foot JC Penney.
The new Macy’s will “deepen our presence in the diverse and densely populated New York marketplace,” Ron Klein, chief stores officer for Macy’s, said in a statement. Macy’s currently has one store in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, three in Queens and one in the Bronx’s Parkchester area.
[more]
The Macy’s in Herald Square is getting a four-year, $400 million renovation, the company announced this morning.
The renovation will begin in the early spring and continue through the fall of 2015, and all the while, the store will remain open. The project includes adding 100,000 square feet of shopping space — bringing the total selling footprint to 1.2 million square feet — by re-purposing stock and office rooms and extending the mezzanine. The entire structure at 154 West 34th Street is about 2.2 million square feet. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
From the October issue: In 1998, it was big news when Banana Republic opened a large store on
34th Street one block east of Macy’s. At the time, its neighbors were
local outlets like Empire 34 and Blooming Boutique, along with discount
clothing retailer Conway. How the block has changed. The stretch of 34th Street, between
Fifth and Sixth avenues, is now filled with far more upscale
international retailers. This year, brokers say Japanese apparel store
Uniqlo has been scouring the strip for multistory locations — just
months after signing one of the most expensive leases ever in Manhattan
farther north on Fifth Avenue.
The Bloomberg administration is advancing a proposal to turn the busy 34th Street corridor between Herald Square and the Empire State Building into a pedestrian plaza similar to that of Times Square, banning cars from one of the city’s most congested areas. A public hearing on the plan, which was proposed in 2008 and is intended to give pedestrians more space and speed up crosstown busses, was held Wednesday. Last week, officials from the Department of Transportation met to discuss the proposal with local business leaders, and the city is currently working on environmental and design reviews. The $30 million project would be completed by the end of 2012; a final design is expected in the fall of 2011. [NYT]
One of New York City’s most iconic retailers may soon sport a new look. The Macy’s flagship store at 151 West 34th Street on Seventh Avenue is considering a major aesthetic overhaul, according to Women’s Wear Daily, including a renovation of the sales floors and the 34th Street entrance. The cosmetic update for the 108-year-old Herald Square mainstay is rumored to have been in the works for a long time, but the recession reportedly put the effort on hold. No word yet on the cost of the renovations or when they might begin.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is sticking with Seventh Avenue this year, but the parade’s future may be further east, and the shift has Times Square hotel and restaurant owners jittery. Large hotels are hesitant to take advance Thanksgiving reservations without the promise of a parade view, and the companies that own Times Square signs cannot set their rates without knowing whether the space will be televised on that day. Last year, the parade moved from Broadway to Seventh Avenue to accommodate the city’s new pedestrian plazas, which, at the time, were temporary. The 2009 parade traveled down Seventh Avenue from 59th to 42nd streets, hitting Times Square before veering onto Sixth Avenue and making its way to Herald Square. It included four extra turns, and with the pedestrian plazas now becoming permanent, Macy’s is worried about safely maneuvering the signature helium balloons through the more complex route in years to come. On the other hand, the Hotel Association of New York City said moving the parade to Sixth Avenue would mean a projected loss of $40 million in hotel room revenues, given that there are more than twice as many hotels on Seventh Avenue as on Sixth. [Crain’s]
