1990: Empty storefronts abound in Manhattan
In November 1990, Manhattan’s retail market experienced its highest vacancy rates since the 1970s. Some neighborhoods showed significantly worse activity than others: the Upper East Side and Upper West Side had vacancy rates of more than 10 percent, while the Financial District’s exceeded 20 percent. About 30 stores remained vacant on the posh stretch of Madison Avenue between 57th and 96th streets.
Retail leasing agent Huberth & Peters reported that in Manhattan, retail space was taking an average of
almost six months to lease — a figure that had doubled in a few years. New development coming online had helped bring the available retail space to 7.2 million square feet as of the middle of the year. The surplus space came alongside drastic drops in average asking rents, down 20 percent from more than $65 per square foot in 1988 over all Manhattan, and more in some pockets such as Madison Avenue, which saw a 40 percent drop to $350 per square foot.
The high vacancy rates in the city, however, belied a massive influx of national chains over the prior decade. The amount of retail space occupied by these big retailers —
including the Bombay Company, Toys “R” Us, Gap and Banana Republic — had
increased from 300,000 to 1.5 million square feet between 1975 and 1990.
1977: Industrial development bonds boost activity
Counteracting a decline in manufacturing and industrial activity in the city that had begun a decade earlier, November 1977 saw an increase in industrial real estate deals, owing largely to tax incentives from the state’s Industrial Development Agency. That month, a trucking company took a 10-acre vacant terminal in Greenpoint to develop; a spool and tube manufacturer on the verge of moving to New Jersey took a 121,000-square-foot building on Lafayette Avenue in the Bronx; and a 100,000-square-foot former toy plant that had been vacant for two years found a tenant.
The mid 1970s saw many industrial buildings remain vacant in New York City, as high carrying charges — along with more competitive tax incentives elsewhere — drove manufacturers to neighboring counties and regions. Starting in 1975, the IDA offered lenders tax-free bonds, purchasable in amounts up to $5 million that gave them
an incentive to lend to investors in manufacturing. The borrowers benefited by receiving a low-interest mortgage, a total abatement on land tax for the term of the bond, and a 10-year freeze on taxes on the building itself.
The program helped fill vacant industrial properties, although some believed it was too late. “We’re locking the barn door when the horse is gone,” said one broker.
After its peak in the 1950s, New York City lost two-thirds of its manufacturing jobs between 1969 and 1999, compared to an 8.4 percent decline in such jobs nationwide over the same period.
1957: 666 Fifth Avenue opens its doors
On November 25, 1957, Tishman Realty and Construction Corp. opened its
41-story office building at 666 Fifth Avenue, following a ceremony in which
Mayor Robert Wagner tried and failed to unfurl a 500-pound American flag by
detonating a rocket. When finished, 666 Fifth Avenue — also known as the Tishman Building — was the largest aluminum-faced skyscraper in the world. The building
was designed by Carson & Lundin, and it cost $40 million to build.
The skyscraper broke records again in December 2006, when Kushner Properties agreed to purchase the building from Tishman Speyer Properties for $1.8 billion, or $1,200 per square foot. This remains the highest price ever paid for an office building in the United States.
Tishman Realty had sold the property for $80 million when it dissolved in 1976. Then, in 2000, Tishman Speyer purchased the high-rise for $518 million.
Standing 483 feet tall, the stout 1.5 million-square-foot building is not even among the top 80 tallest buildings in the city today. In 2002, the “666” sign that adorned the top of the tower was replaced by the logo of Citigroup, which is now the largest tenant.
Compiled by James Kelly