West 57th Street is poised to go from dowdy to chic. Upscale merchants such as Nordstrom are said to be eyeing 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, and a luxury hotel could also sprout on a block where several properties have recently changed hands.
For more than a dozen years, the street, home to a mix of mid-priced stores that include Sleepy’s, Bolton’s and the Sharper Image, has been the matronly stepsister of East 57th Street, which is lined with luxury merchants such as Chanel, Dior and Burberry.
But the upscale redevelopment of Midtown on the west side is having a halo effect on West 57th Street, making the block more appealing to higher-end tenants.
The presence of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle and Times Square’s metamorphosis are redefining Midtown West, said Stephen Stephanou, principal of Madison Retail Group, the retail-leasing firm. “The Time Warner Center is aspirational luxury and is a gateway to the west; it pulls people down that way,” he said.
“I do think West 57th Street is ripe for a major change,” he noted.
Fortunoff, which moved to 3 West 57th Street this fall, has also breathed new life into the block.
“Now that Fortunoff is next to Bergdorf, [developers feel] there’s a different customer on that block,” said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail leasing and sales division for Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
And the lack of available real estate east of Fifth Avenue is prompting developers to think, “go west, young man,” to a place where rents are also less steep.
Asking rents for new construction on 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues are between $350 and $400 per square foot, Stephanou said.
That compares with $1,000 per square foot on 57th Street between Madison and Fifth, he said.
Recapturing a gilded past
Although tony tenants like Bulgari, Luis Vuitton, Tiffany and Bergorf Goodman anchor the four corners of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, to the west the block becomes a mix of “national chains, food users, even some discount tenants like Strawberry,” said Robin Abrams, executive vice president of the Lansco Corporation.
But it wasn’t always that way.
West 57th Street was once home to New York luxury bastion Henri Bendel, as well as avant-garde fashion retailer Charivari. But the character of the street changed in the early 1990s.
“Everyone [slipped] away when Bendel’s left in 1991,” recalled Consolo.
The Charivari became a Brite Smile teeth-whitening center, and stores like Sleepy’s landed on the block.
“They were not high-end luxury brands,” Abrams said. “When the deals were done, the luxury tenants were located east of Fifth Avenue.”
Now that’s about to change, and a makeover is already underway, she said.
In the works
More highbrow stores “will come back, one by one, because they see that traffic is there,” Consolo said. “If we get one or two luxury guys, it will change the complexion of the whole block.”
Changes should start to unfold over the next 18 months, she said.
Upscale stores have already tested the street, brokers said, noting that Bulgari, Chanel and Coach have leased temporary spaces at 3 West 57th Street.
Nordstrom, Versace and Brioni, the high-fashion Italian firm that already has a store on East 57th Street, have eyed the block as well, according to Consolo.
Versace and Brioni did not return calls seeking comment.
Stephanou, Nordstrom’s broker, said the retailer has scouted a number of Manhattan locations, but declined further comment.
This fall, developer Sheldon Solow bought 20-22 West 57th Street, home to the Brookstone store. He already owns its neighbor 6 West 57th Street, which houses Club Monaco.
“Why would Solow buy the building next to Club Monaco? There’s a plan,” Consolo said.
Solow could cobble together the space now occupied by Club Monaco and Sharper Image. “He could put it all together, and there could be a Nordstrom,” Consolo added.
That would make sense as retailers on the block, such as Sharper Image and Brookstone, have become anachronistic, Consolo said.
Those stores are selling the “toys of the early 2000s,” she noted, while consumers have moved on to the Apples of the world.
Solow did not return phone calls at press time seeking comment.
Meanwhile, B & B Investment Group, an Israeli firm, purchased 16-18 West 57th Street in the fall and is planning a luxury boutique hotel, according to published reports. Metropolitan Antiques, Brite Smile and Sleepy’s are currently in that space.
“Next year, those stores all go,” Consolo said.
In addition, plans could be in the works for parcels on the block to be redeveloped into a retail/hotel project and residential complex.
“I believe we’re going to see huge change,” Consolo said.