Discount stores score sweet deals in the Bronx

While empty storefronts linger still on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, many discount retailers are hungry to snap up new leases on University Avenue in the Bronx. Rick Stassa, a broker with NAI Friedland, has recently completed several new leases on the stretch, and says the market is prime for the few businesses currently able to expand. One such business is Mohammed Salman Khan’s 99 Cent Discount King, which inked a deal for a 12-year lease for a third store location, a 1,875-square-foot space at 2364 University Avenue. “Business owners looking to lease can be aggressive because there aren’t a lot of other people looking,” Stassa said, noting that discount clothing and shoe retailers are among the few that fall into that category. “A lot of landlords are giving reduced rent in exchange for shortening the length of a lease or in exchange for rent increases deeper into the lease.” [Post]