Shoe chain Journeys joins footwear fracas on 34th Street

Footwear retailer Journeys is taking about 3,000 square feet on the ground floor and 3,000 square feet on the lower level at 34 West 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, a broker on the deal told The Real Deal.

The store, a division of the Nashville, Tenn.-based publicly traded apparel company Genesco, earlier this year closed a store in Herald Center, at 1293 Broadway at 34th Street, about a block away.

Journeys, which focuses on shoes but also sells clothing, is replacing another shoe retailer, Orva Shoes, which is currently open at the location. Neither Orva nor Genesco responded to a request for comment.

Journeys inked the 10-year deal last month, broker Adam Zeiberg, who represented the retailer, told TRD. The asking rent was $600 per square foot.

The stretch of 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues has grown in recent years as a shoe-shopping destination with retailers such as Timberland taking space in 2011 at 28 West 34th Street. Other footwear-heavy chains include Aldo at 27 West 34th Street, and Vince Camuto, which inked a deal last year for space at 30 West 34th Street.

Crown Retail Services’ Patrick Wood and Zeiberg (who recently left Crown to form his own firm, AZ Consulting) represented the tenant. The landlord, Benjamin Hamuy, represented himself, two sources said. Crown and Hamuy did not respond to a request for comment.  — Adam Pincus