An eclectic blend of retail, food and fun is fueling a lifestyle renaissance on the tip of Manhattan, south of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Wall Street neighborhood continues its dramatic transformation from a daytime office district to an urban leisure mecca, welcoming new arrivals such as a luxurious French retailer, a state-of-the art indoor soccer complex and a soon-to-be-open seven-story Asian food and shopping destination. The Real Deal spoke with Thierry Prevost of Printemps, Jonathan Lupinelli of Socceroof and Robert Cheng of Golden Mall, about the area’s vibrant next act.
Business, meet lifestyle
Leaders from these three ventures point to a bustling and thriving district that now boasts more than 70,000 residents, sits at the center of a transit hub and lures millions of visitors annually.
With housing options on the rise, fed by a combination of new construction and office-to-residential conversions, the neighborhood remains a mainstay for workers
“You are going to have everyone from everywhere wanting to be downtown,” says Cheng, owner of Golden Mall.
Entrepreneurs have breathed new life into historic buildings in the district. Choices now abound for consumers, from sipping a hazelnut mocha in a French café to sampling from more than a dozen Asian eateries under one roof to scoring a goal in a subterranean soccer field.
“Ten years ago, you couldn’t imagine something like this,” says Lupinelli, who lives a block away from Socceroof’s Wall Street location at 28 Liberty St.
“It’s in our roots to go where others might not expect,” says Prevost, Chief Executive of Printemps America. “In Paris, our founders opened on the Right Bank when it was still a quiet, working-class area, and that’s where the city’s heartbeat eventually moved. We see the same potential downtown.”
Retail with a French accent
In the heart of the Downtown district stands Printemps New York, the legendary 160-year old French luxury retailer that chose the new office-to-residential conversion One Wall Street for its first U.S. flagship.
Designed by the award-winning Parisian architect Laura Gonzalez, the nearly 55,000-square-foot space offers what Prevost calls “a hospitality project,” providing a full experience of food and fashion. Shoppers might start the morning with a croissant at Café Jalu, browse hard-to-find luxury labels in rooms named the Salon or the Boudoir, fulfil their wildest footwear dreams amid a restored Art Deco landmark that gleams with two million mosaic tiles, and end their day with champagne or a cocktail in the Red Room Bar.
The store’s fine-dining restaurant, Maison Passerelle, is helmed by James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet, whose menu reimagines classic French cuisine with an international flair. It’s this mix of dining and design that enables Printemps to curate a one-of-a-kind experience.
“What we hear from our customers is that it feels incredibly warm,” shares Prevost. “The way people speak to us, the way we engage with them—it’s different. That’s exactly what we aimed to create. This space is intended to be the heart of the neighborhood—where everyone feels truly at home. Our goal with this project has always been to make the client experience the most important aspect of our hospitality.”
Bringing Queens flavors to Wall Street
Another must-see destination is taking shape just blocks away at 47 Broadway near Trinity Church. Cheng, owner of Golden Mall, the beloved Flushing food hall that helped popularize regional Chinese cuisine, is transforming a century-old building into a seven-story Asian food and entertainment complex.
The building used to house the legendary China Chalet restaurant before the pandemic forced it to close.
“During the pandemic, that whole building was empty,” Cheng recalls. “But we knew the neighborhood was changing. More people live here now, including young professionals and families.”
When it opens early next year, the 35,000-square-foot Golden Mall will feature 18 food stalls, and plans are in the works for upper-floor venues for karaoke, nightlife and possibly an arcade.
As opening day nears, Cheng said there’s still space available for tenants, ideally those with Asian roots or concepts that align with the building’s cultural vision.
“Our goal is to have a building the locals will love and where the tourists will want to be,” he says.
A perfect match
At Socceroof Wall Street, the sweeping basement of a commercial building has been converted into the largest indoor soccer facility of its kind in Manhattan.
The 20,000-square-foot space includes four indoor fields, training areas and a speakeasy-style bar. Socceroof hosts everything from toddler classes to midnight pickup matches, private events, corporate retreats and runs from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. or later, depending on the events being hosted there.
Lupinelli, a former professional soccer player who competed in France and Spain, co-founded Socceroof along with Jérôme Meary and Jean-David Tartour. While the company has New York locations in Brooklyn, Long Island City and New Rochelle, as well as facilities in Connecticut and Montreal, Socceroof Wall Street location serves as the company’s U.S. flagship.
“Downtown Manhattan is something special,” says Lupinelli. “We’ve been able to secure a significant number of partnerships across the entire soccer community, which guarantees we’ll be operating at nearly 100 percent capacity this winter. The reception has been incredible.”
To learn more, visit Socceroof, Printemps, Golden Mall and the Downtown Alliance.