Soho slowly bounces back with new retail leases

Tenants drawn in by lower rents, favorable terms

143 Spring Street's new sublease could be a sign that retail subleasing may become more popular. (Google Maps)
143 Spring Street's new sublease could be a sign that retail subleasing may become more popular. (Google Maps)

Like many of the city’s major retail districts, Soho has been hit hard by the pandemic, with foot traffic falling and landlords taking a hit on rents. But there are some signs of life in the neighborhood, with new leases being signed in recent weeks.

Notably, women’s clothing store Pinko inked a deal to take over a former Bed, Bath & Beyond at 143 Spring Street, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Italian brand will sublease the 4,925-square-foot retail space — a sign that retail subleasing may become more popular in the coming months, as stores sit empty.

Valentino SpA, another Italian clothing brand, also inked a deal to take over a more than 8,700-square-foot space near the Pinko flagship. Target also recently signed on to take 27,000 square feet at 600 Broadway,

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Falling rents are helping lure retailers back to the ailing neighborhood. In the case of Pinko, the company is paying a yearly rate of about $73 per square foot to sublease the Spring Street space, according to the report. That’s a “significant discount” from what the main leaseholder pays, according to Alex Carini of the Carini Group, which helped broker the deal.

Asking rents along Manhattan’s main retail corridors have dropped dramatically as a result of the pandemic, with some neighborhoods hit harder than others. In Soho, asking rents along Prince Street fell in the fourth quarter of 2020 by nearly half, from $719 to $423 per square foot year over year.

[WSJ] — Amy Plitt