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Commercial
New York

Madison Avenue retail activity rising

Six stores opened this summer, with hospitality and restaurant offerings in pipeline

Madison Avenue Business Improvement District's Matthew Bauer and 692 Madison Avenue (Google Maps, Linkedin, Getty)
Madison Avenue Business Improvement District's Matthew Bauer and 692 Madison Avenue (Google Maps, Linkedin, Getty)

An iconic Manhattan retail corridor is touting a slew of new activity inked this summer.

Madison Avenue’s retail recovery lagged behind other sections of the city in the wake of the pandemic, hindering a corridor known for some of the priciest retail rents in the city. Data from Orbital Insight showed the corridor stretching from 57th Street to 72nd Street last summer saw only 71 percent of its foot traffic from 2019.

However, a report from the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District claims the tide is starting to turn in the stretch from East 57th Street to East 86th Street. The New York Post reported the upper stretch of Madison Avenue has seen six stores open this summer.

The corridor’s recent additions include Italian luxury clothing company Kiton at 692 Madison, premium clothing company Paige at 958 Madison and high-end women’s clothing retailer Peruvian Connection at 1070 Madison.

More business is on the way. At least five stores are close to opening on upper Madison Avenue, in addition to 24 businesses in the pipeline, including hotels, restaurants, galleries and clubs.

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Vacant storefronts dotted Madison Avenue from East 57th Street to East 72nd Street through last year, as the availability rate of 39 percent was the highest in Manhattan, according to Cushman & Wakefield. though that data only covered. Barneys New York and luxury handbag retailer Anya Hindmarch couldn’t hold on and the BID launched a template for short-term licenses to boost leasing activity.

Things are starting to look up, on Madison Avenue and across New York City. Cushman data showed the corridor’s vacancy rate is 27.3 percent, still second-worst in the city (ahead of Herald Square), but significantly improved from a year ago.

Average asking rents across the New York metro area ticked upwards in the spring, alongside declining vacancies. In Manhattan, vacancies in March dropped by 30 basis points year over year.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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Commercial Real EstateMadison AvenueRetail