It may be too early to count the retail chickens, but it is inevitable they will start to roost along the Broadway corridor from West 57th Street down to Times Square — all because of the coming Nordstrom at the base of the under-construction Central Park Tower at 225 W. 57th St.
The Nordstrom will also have a Broadway entrance, right across the street from the 3 Columbus Circle office building. Here, second-floor retail signage proclaims “Across From Nordstrom,” as Winick Realty Group promotes its own large retail availability.
“Nordstrom’s entry into Manhattan is arguably one of retail’s most anticipated store openings,” says Kelly Gedinsky of Winick Realty Group, who is marketing the space opposite the new Nordstrom. Gedinsky adds, “Shopping patterns will most certainly change as consumers are almost guaranteed to be driven to this section of the city.”
Nearby, the discount retailer TJ Maxx is attracting fashionistas to its almost 30,000-square-foot perch on the south side of West 57th Street at Eighth Avenue.
To ensure another competitor doesn’t open across from its Broadway entrance, brokers say Nordstrom is negotiating for the spot at 3 Columbus Circle. The end user may be Nordstrom Rack, its charitable Treasure & Bond brand, the brick-and-mortar Pop In@Nordstrom, which features ever-changing lineups such as the current promotion for Opening Ceremony — or even an entirely new concept the Seattle-based department store is cooking up in order to excite shoppers about the city’s first store, which will not open for several more years.
But there is a wrinkle: Along with the available space, Nordstrom would like to take over the prime corner now occupied by Bank of America on Broadway at 57th Street.
Gedinsky represents the building and declined to comment on any potential deals with Nordstrom or any other retailer.
“Nordstrom is the anchor,” declares Gene Spiegelman, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield. “It is the north end of Times Square, and it will meet the south end.” But, he warns, it could take a decade.
The corridor should get a boost as the Nordstrom effect takes over and pedestrian patterns change. Certainly, more feet will be on 57th Street’s “Billionaires’ Row,” where condominiums are either open or under construction with prices that rise into the stratosphere — just like the units themselves, which can be some 1,500 feet in the clouds. Case in point: the ones being developed by Extell Development right on top of Nordstrom.
“You have that residential development going east-west on 57th Street, and we will see the trickle effect from Times Square going north and south [from the Bow Tie, the central area where Seventh Avenue and Broadway cross],” agrees Jason Pruger, executive managing director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
For now, between West 47th and 57th streets, Broadway is a mostly gloomy corridor with a ragtag collection of city retail staples, from Staples itself to shlock food purveyors and schlock clothing shops.
That may be about to change.
Along with fashion companies, tenants seeking Times Square digs include the British toy store Hamleys, and a new concept from National Geographic, which sources say is searching for “a unique space to do something unique” and may tilt their search northward to the large hunks of space now available.
Gary Barnett’s Extell is planning a completely new 60-story tower with nearly 400,000 square feet of space at 1710 Broadway, on the southeast corner of West 54th Street, which will likely include new street-level retail.
Expected to become a mix of condos and hotels, 1710 will join 3,000 to 6,000 area hotel rooms that bring tourists and business executives for some local food, folks and fun.
CBS’ television staple, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” has also reignited the energy around the Ed Sullivan Theater at 1697 Broadway, mid-block between West 53rd and 54th streets. Here, audience and staff create bumps in business.
A deal with Travel Money was just completed at the 53rd Street corner for 600 square feet at a rent of $640 per foot. Jeff Lagowitz of Savills Studley represented the tenant while Michael Kadosh, senior vice president at CBRE, represented the Sky Organization, which owns the three stores, just south of the theater.
Kadosh has another 2,750 feet available and lots of interest. “It falls into the Times Square BID and the signage is exceptional,” he said. The Colbert show also adds pedestrian traffic, since 400 people line up to go in at 1 p.m. and get out at 5 p.m. five days a week.
At Paramount Group’s office building at 1633 Broadway, construction is already under way for a near-twin of Apple’s famous cube at Fifth Avenue’s GM Building.
But redevelopment of the semi-underground space, known for its former tenant, touristy restaurant Mars 2112, will maintain a grand open area as well as a 50-foot stretch of glass frontage visible from both the street and the building’s lower-level subway entrance. That’s according to Bradley Mendelson, executive vice president of Cushman & Wakefield, who is representing Paramount and targeting several potential occupants.
The 52,000 square feet has an asking rent of $5.5 million. Paramount had been negotiating with F.A.O. Schwarz until executives threw Toys ‘R’ Us into the mix and the deal died.
“Paramount doesn’t want a big-box discount store at the front of their building,” says Mendelson. “Whatever we put in that space will be a game-changer.”
Diagonally across the street, an UGG billboard wraps the southeast corner of West 50th Street, where Victor Menkin of Menkin Realty Services is marketing three levels of 2,800 square feet each along with a basement.
Asking rent for the freestanding building, which has 50 feet of frontage on Broadway and 57 feet on West 50th Street, is $1.3 million. “Unquestionably, I believe the street of Broadway from 50th to 57th will absolutely appreciate in value as these new developments get into place,” Menkin says.
The Brill Building at 1619 Broadway has a 50,000-square-foot hunk of retail that’s also been considered by brands, including the Toys ‘R’ Us/F.A.O. Schwarz combo, because LED signage is allowed. The building is being restored and sold.
Then, over at 1604, Atlas Capital has taken over the ground lease where the former Spotlight nightclub had 24,590 square feet spread over four floors along with a roof deck. RKF is now handling the leasing.
“Times Square and 57th will all meld together,” predicts Karen Bellantoni, vice chairman of RKF. “It is pushing north from 47th.”
Nevertheless, brokers agree this area of Broadway will take a while to fill in. “Right now people go to the Bow Tie,” said Jedd Nero, who heads retail for Avison Young. “To get them north of that you have to have the continuation of the Times Square vibe, which you lose where you lose the signage.”
The Times Square zoning stops at 54th Street, where spectacular and colorful lights and billboards end. Brokers also complain that walkers have also decreased since a pedestrian plaza was installed at the Bow Tie.
On a recent visit, it was also apparent that a bend in Broadway, together with the small trees planted in the traffic islands, block visibility and act as natural barriers for pedestrians.
No matter what, brokers say that retailers who understand the north-south tourist trek and grab the open gaps at current lower rents will be poised to profit when Nordstrom finally does open.
