Retail asking rents surge on 57th Street: REBNY

Retail rents along 57th Street surged over the last six months as millionaires and billionaires closed on pricey condominium units at 432 Park Avenue and developers moved forward with other pricey towers. In addition, Space On Broadway near the World Trade Center rose sharply, information from a new report from the trade group the Real Estate Board of New York shows.

The average asking rent for A Store Along 57th Street Between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue rose by 25 percent since May to $1,250 per foot. That’s up 41 percent over the same time a year ago when it was $885 per foot.

Driving Rents On 57th Street are projects such as Harry Macklowe and CIM Group’s 96-story 432 Park at the corner of 57th Street, which is slated to have a large retail presence at the base. And Crown Acquisitions partnered with Oxford Properties Group to buy the office tower next door, 450 Park Avenue, for $545 million. About half the value of the purchase is the retail.

Source: The Real Deal compilation of data from the Real Estate Board of New York

Elsewhere, with Condé Nast set to move into its new home at 1 World Trade Center next month, Asking Rents On Broadway Between Battery Park And Chambers Street jumped by 17 percent over the past six months to $265 per foot.

Other popular Manhattan shopping districts, however, saw rent increases slow over the past six months, or even decline. In the prime shopping areas of Madison Avenue from 57th to 72nd streets, rents were up only 4 percent since May.  Near Macy’s on 34th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues, rents rose just 1 percent to $891 per foot.

Some areas went into reverse, including Manhattan’s premier shopping district, Fifth Avenue from 49th to 59th streets. There, asking rents were down slightly over the last half year, falling 4 percent to $3,420 per square foot.

It was the same situation in Times Square. Asking rents were down 4 percent to $2,317 in the “bow-tie”, on Broadway and Seventh Avenue between 42nd and 47th streets, the report shows.

“While the average asking rent in most corridors increased compared to last year, the increases were not as extreme as previous reports,” the report said.

REBNY issues a report each spring and fall on 17 of Manhattan’s most active retail shopping district.

The authors cautioned that asking rents are a volatile measurement and can be heavily influenced by a pricey space hitting the market or conversely being leased and coming off the market. In addition, the report says, the particularities of Location Can Drive the price higher or lower than another nearby space.

Moreover, many of these shopping districts saw double-digit gains over the past year.