Times Square retail rents skyrocket 42 percent

Times Square
Times Square

Retail rents for Times Square are starting to give Fifth Avenue a run for its money, according to Crain’s. Rates in the tourist hub reached as much as $2,400 a square foot in the fourth quarter of last year, a 42 percent increase from 2011’s final three months. Last month, the Sunglass Hut inked a deal with Vornado Realty Trust for 1540 Broadway, between 45th and 46th streets,  at $2,025 a square foot.

A rash of new developments are expected to keep rents climbing. One notable project is 701 Seventh Avenue, on West 47th Street, where a 500-room Marriott Edition boutique hotel with 85,000 square feet of retail space is set to rise.

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As The Real Deal previously reported, Manhattan landlords with building’s on side streets or in less touristy areas are attempting to compete with Times Square’s sky-high rents by offering tenant incentives such as free rent or improvements fit the needs of specific tenants. [Crain’s]Christopher Cameron