While retailers may seem gun-shy about inking multi-year leases, savvy brands are snapping up spaces that allow them to market concepts via pop-ups and customer experiences. In these smaller stores, retailers incorporate interactive (and Instagrammable) features alongside e-commerce essentials, such as facilitating returns.

“The change we are seeing in our business as to High Street retail has no expiration date,” explains Gene Spiegelman, vice chairman and principal of RIPCO Real Estate. “Technology is driving everything today and real estate is adapting at a feverish pace.”

David Orowitz of L&L Holding, who is seeking tenants for the TSX Broadway tower, says, “Experiential retail enhances [shopping] and provides a deeper relationship with customers.”

In a deal represented by RKF, Lululemon Athletica will move from 597 Fifth Ave. to a 20,000-square-foot flagship on three levels across the street at 592 Fifth Ave. At No. 597, Lululemon has “nap pods” where customers can Zen out mid-shopping.

There are many experiential and entertainment-like tenants trying to find homes. “But it has to be the best operator to succeed,” says Susan Kurland of Savills.

“Traditional retail has gotten to be much harder, so it is really about the experiences you can create,” adds Scott Rechler of RXR. City Winery, which will move to RXR’s Pier 57, also has a music venue, while American Girl at its 75 Rockefeller Plaza offers tea parties.

City Winery (and its music venue) will move to Pier 57.City Winery

With lots of space and not a lot of takers, rents declined or stabilized along Manhattan’s 17 shopping corridors, according to the Real Estate Board of New York’s spring retail report. But improving areas include Broadway downtown, West 34th Street and Times Square.

Referring to proposed City Council bills that would make owners give 10-year leases to commercial tenants, Peter Braus of Lee & Associates NYC opines, “You have all these stores to fill, but . . . owners and tenants can work collaboratively, and not be [forced] by mandates.”

Despite drops each year, between 2015 and 2018 developers spent $2.5 billion on 7.5 million square feet of new retail space, 58% in Manhattan, according to the New York Building Congress.

With a price tag of $600 million for the construction of its retail space alone, Hudson Yards cost the most — and it will have a ripple effect, says Building Congress president Carlo A. Scissura. “A lot of people are looking at how to replicate it,” he adds.

Urban Umbrella scaffolding at 101 Park Ave. to ensure retailers are visible during renovations.
Peter S. Kalikow installed eye-catching Urban Umbrella scaffolding at 101 Park Ave. to ensure retailers are visible during renovations.Stephen Yang

In Soho, TJ Maxx opened at 483 Broadway between Broome and Grand. The move could prompt others.

“Retailers are saying, ‘We have to make money, and we can’t when rent is $1,000 per square foot,’ ” says Annette Healy of CBRE. “That message is heard loud and clear.”

At the Greenwich Lane condo in Greenwich Village, a pop-up pet store enabled Small Door, a tech-enabled vet practice, to see the need for pet services in the area.

Jay Norris, CEO and co-founder of Guesst
Jay Norris, CEO and co-founder of GuesstGuesst

“Everybody has been trying to figure out how to get stores open and have them be successful,” explains Michael Rudin of Rudin Management, which owns the project. “It’s a matter of being patient and finding the right users for the space.”

Technology is also helping pair stores with fresh tenants. Helmed by Jay Norris, Guesst acts as a matchmaking service between available spaces and brands so stores can rotate products and pay vendors.

Even the age-old eyesore of scaffolding is getting a facelift. While 101 Park Ave. gets caulked, owner Peter S. Kalikow has installed sculptural Urban Umbrella scaffolding, which allows ground-floor retailers to remain visible to passersby.

Adds Richard Hodos of CBRE, “Nobody is sitting on their laurels and waiting for business to come to them. Everyone is aggressive, as it’s either change with the consumer or die.”