Madison Avenue retail buildings sell for record low price

Sale of 3 properties is lowest price recorded on Madison Avenue in a decade

Right to left: 831, 835 and 837 Madison Avenue (Google Maps)
Right to left: 831, 835 and 837 Madison Avenue (Google Maps)

Three retail buildings on Madison Avenue have sold for a combined $45 million, a price that represents a new low for the posh shopping district.

The luxury retailer Akris will buy three properties at 831, 835 and 837 Madison Avenue between East 69th and 70th Streets for $45 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal includes three ground-floor retail spaces, along with 15 residential units.

The deal came out to $1,340 per square foot, a significant decline from 2014; at that point, retail properties on Madison Avenue were selling for about $7,589 per square foot, according to the Journal. It’s the lowest deal recorded on that street in a decade, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Demand for high-end retail has dropped off significantly since the onset of the pandemic. A number of luxury shoppers pivoted to ordering online, and, as a result, some retailers are closing down their high-rent stores in Manhattan.

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In Soho, a roughly 6,000-square-foot retail space at 106 Spring Street, which has sat largely empty for years, is heading to foreclosure.

And on Fifth Avenue, luxury fashion company Valentino SpA is suing its landlord to get out of its lease, according to the Journal.

[WSJ— Keith Larsen