Pandora leases with ESRT in Herald Square

Jewelry retailer takes 1,800 square feet at 112 West 34th Street

Empire State Realty Trust's Tony Malkin and 112 West 34th Street (Getty, Google Maps)
Empire State Realty Trust's Tony Malkin and 112 West 34th Street (Getty, Google Maps)

Danish jewelry retailer Pandora is bringing its bling to Herald Square.

The Copenhagen-based company signed a 10-year lease for 1,800 square feet at Empire State Realty Trust’s 112 West 34th Street. The Commercial Observer reported asking rent for the space was $600 per square foot.

The retailer joins other well-known brands at the 729,000-square-foot building, including Foot Locker, Target and Sephora. Pandora is replacing a former Swatch at the property, bringing the retail portion up to being fully leased, according to the REIT.

ESRT executive Fred Posniak represented the firm in the lease negotiations. JLL’s Robert Gibson and David Berke represented the tenant.

Pandora has nine locations in New York City, including a flagship in Times Square. The company is also looking to open a corporate headquarters in the city, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

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The retailer this summer signed a lease for a key shopping destination on the opposite coast. In July, the company took 1,300 square feet at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square.

The company was founded in 1982, specializing in bracelets, charms and necklaces. Pandora boasts nearly 7,000 points of sale worldwide, including 2,600 global concept stores, 500 of which are in the United States.

Herald Square has been left behind in New York City retail’s road to recovery. In August, retail vacancy in the district was 42.4 percent, easily the highest in the city, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. Victoria’s Secret, Banana Republic and Hooters are among those to abandon the area near Penn Station during the pandemic.

Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, didn’t seem too worried about the district’s retail prospects moving in reverse.

“When the economy is closed down by the government, the retail district is going to suffer the most,” Biederman told Crain’s in August. “A couple of tenants leave — the weaker ones. Other ones come in. We’re not alarmed. Those spaces are going to get filled.”

— Holden Walter-Warner