Forever 21 is relocating its Herald Square-area store to a space nearby that was once home to rival retailer H&M.
The fast-fashion powerhouse inked a five-year deal with Vornado Realty Trust to lease the 43,000-square-foot space at 435 Seventh Avenue near Penn Plaza, sources told The Real Deal.
The store at the corner of West 34th Street was one of two locations in the area that H&M closed when it opened its huge flagship three years ago on Herald Square. The 63,000-square-foot space at JEMB Realty’s 1293 Broadway is the Swedish retail giant’s biggest shop in the world.
A spokesperson for Vornado declined to comment, and representatives for H&M couldn’t be reached.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Jason Greenstone — who was named the Real Estate Board of New York’s rookie of the year for 2013 — negotiated the deal for Forever 21 along with colleagues Mike O’Neill and Taylor Reynolds. The brokers declined to comment.
Forever 21 will be relocating its store from JEMB’s 50 West 34th Street, where it signed a lease for 25,000 square feet in 2003 that’s set to expire early next year.
Vornado, meanwhile, has big plans for the Penn Plaza area. The real estate investment trust recently said it’s considering tearing down the 1.6 million-square-foot office tower at 2 Penn Plaza to make way for a building that would be double the size.