Jeff Blau

Save for a few short-term dips, the real estate market in New York has run full steam ahead since the recession of the early 1990s, when Jeff Blau joined the Related Companies out of college.

And what a run it’s been for the 41-year-old president of the privately held real estate juggernaut, which developed One Union Square South, the mixed-use tower that helped revitalize its downtown neighborhood, and Time Warner Center, which played a similar role at Columbus Circle. On the purely commercial side, Related has also developed the Gateway Center, a three-month-old mall by Yankee Stadium that’s brought big-box retailing to a low-income area.

Blau talked to The Real Deal about the economy, how distressed assets may provide opportunities and the importance of affordable housing.
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Nordstrom Rack, a discount unit of retailer Nordstrom, will open at One Union Square South, occupying 32,136 square feet on the lower level of the former Virgin Megastore space, according to a press release from Nordstrom. The store, the first Nordstrom Rack in Manhattan, is slated to open in spring 2010. The terms of Nordstrom’s lease were not disclosed, but The Real Deal reported in March that retail space facing Union Square Park usually commands $400 per square foot and the Virgin Megastore space could rent for even more. Best Buy is also coming to One Union Square South and is expected to open a 46,000-square-foot store in the former Circuit City space during the fourth quarter of this year. TRD [more]