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From the September issue:
The majority of recent commercial sales, as tracked by The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet in its September issue, have been for multi-family properties. In fact, multi-family sales accounted for 15 of the 40 commercial sales recorded, followed by development properties, which made up seven of the 40 and retail sales, which accounted for nearly $94.5 million, or six of the properties. Click here to see the full Deal Sheet summary. [more]

The U.S. retail sector is showing signs of a rebound, and that could have a much-needed positive impact on retail real estate, according to Cassidy Turley’s September retail report released yesterday.

The report cites U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data showing consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in July, the largest increase since December 2009, and wages and disposable income gained 0.4 percent. Combine these improvements with gas prices dropping 40 cents per gallon since mid-May, and consumers appear ready to spend for the first time since the start of 2011. In fact, since April, the retail sector has added 97,000 jobs to accommodate the trend. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has come to a preliminary deal with mall operator the Westfield Group to bring retail to the World Trade Center site, according to the Wall Street Journal. Terms of the agreement, which would see Westfield contribute $612.5 million toward construction costs for 365,000 square feet of retail space in return for a 50 percent stake in the development, are still being finalized.

If the deal goes ahead, retail would be spread throughout the complex, with some stores lining multiple levels of the large, open transit hub. The lower floors of office towers along Greenwich Street would be stores and restaurants, and some would overlook the memorial, which is currently under construction.
The complex has a target opening date of 2015. [more]

Spanish fashion retailer Mango is opening its second New York location at 7 West 34th Street this fall, DNAinfo reported. Although a spokesperson declined to comment on an exact opening date, staff at the store’s Soho location said it will probably be in early September.

Mango is just one in a string of upscale retail tenants coming to the area, DNAinfo reported. Japanese clothing store Uniqlo is set to open its third New York store on the stretch and Levi’s and Timberland footwear store just opened in May.

As The Real Deal previously reported, new stores are a boost for the landlords on 34th Street, who have seen an increase in rental rates and property values. There are 11 landlords on the block between Fifth and Sixth avenues who rent to approximately 30 retailers. Top owners are SL Green Realty and JEMB Realty, which own the two large properties, at the western edge of the street. [more]

Vacant storefronts in prime city areas are finding tenants, and many stores are seeing rents as high as they were in 2007. In order to survive, or find a bargain, retailers are getting creative and looking in less popular neighborhoods, or on side streets, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“It’s a tale of two cities,” said Gene Spiegelman, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield, of the price gap.
In 2008, retail vacancy reached 9 percent on the desirable upper stretch of Fifth Avenue, according to data provided by Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of retail leasing and sales at Prudential Douglas Elliman. The vacancy rate now sits around 7.5 percent. Rents fell to less than $2,000 a square foot, still the highest in the city. The vacancy rate hit 15 percent on Madison Avenue, according to Consolo, while in Soho, the rate went above 11 percent. [more]

Click the image for the complete Deal Sheet Summary

From the June issue: Winick Realty topped retail brokers for space signed from mid-April to mid-May, representing tenants in 41,829 square feet of space. It’s the second consecutive month that Winick topped the retail competition in The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet Summary. SRS Real Estate Partners and JW Burke & Company rounded out the top three. Overall, 226,257 square feet of retail leases were inked over 70 transactions during the four week span. Food and beverage stores accounted for 29 of those leases. Click here to see the complete Deal Sheet Summary.

Though the recovering market has brought a new wave of buyers snapping up high-priced homes in luxury condominiums, down at sea level that tide hasn’t turned. According to the New York Times, retail space on the ground floor of these new developments has been slow to find tenants. River Lofts in Tribeca, 165 Charles Street, 100 11th Avenue, One Jackson Square, 111 Central Park North and be@schermerhorn are just a few of the relatively new developments saddled with significant retail vacancies. But the Times said that fact is not necessarily a bad thing. [more]

New York’s Fifth Avenue remains the world’s most expensive retail destination as retailers continue to focus on major fashion capitals, according to a CB Richard Ellis Global Retail Market View report released today.

Rental values for the strip, extending from 49th to 59th streets, reached $1,900 per square foot, marking an increase of more than 10 percent in the last 12 months.

There was little change in the ratings from the previous quarter with the exception of Hong Kong, which moved up to second place, the fastest growing market in the first quarter of 2011 following a rental hike of 46 percent quarter-over-quarter. Rents in Hong Kong reached $1,697 per square foot per year, and in Sydney, the third highest ranking city, they were $1,301 per foot. TRD [more]

The New York State Department of Labor has released New York City’s preliminary employment data for March and the numbers are promising in the construction and retail sectors. The retail industry added 3,600 jobs, perhaps thanks to Daffy’s plan for expansion in the city, but also a reflection of a surge of optimism in the sector. Construction added 1,500 new jobs following two months of heavy losses but is still down 1,400 positions for the quarter.

In total, New York City created 5,500 new jobs in March, a similar number to February’s statistics which were revised upwards from their previously estimated 2,200 positions. TRD [more]

From left: The View, Solarium and 10-50 Jackson Avenue

Spring has arrived and new businesses are sprouting up, especially in Long Island City. Local businesses are in flux as new restaurants open, old tenants relocate, and residential buildings find commercial tenants.

The ground-floor retail space at the condominium View along the Queens West waterfront is about to become a gym called Crank, LiqCity.com reported, while the retail space in the bottom of condo 10-50 Jackson Avenue at the corner of 49th Avenue is rumored to be getting a bakery and beauty salon, and Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ices is coming to the remaining retail space at the Solarium, at 5-43 48th Avenue. [more]