A 90,000 s/f three-story retail space on one of the busiest retail corners in the world is up for grabs.
W&H Properties announced this morning that 112 West 34th Street, a three-story store across the street from Macy’s famous flagship, will be available in 2015.
Joanne Podell and her team at Cushman & Wakefield have launched a “global marketing campaign” to find the retailer who’ll see 100 million visitors pass their shop window every year.
“This is a worldwide outreach because no other space availability in recent memory offers a comparable scope of opportunity for an international retailer,” said Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, which supervises the W&H portfolio. “In terms of visibility, pedestrian traffic, easy access to multiple transit lines, and proximity to the world’s largest department store, there is nothing like it.”
Malkin noteed that Macy’s attracts more than 20 million visitors annually and that the 34th Street Corridor is one of the most densely trafficked thoroughfares in Manhattan, with an excess of 100 million pedestrians every year. In addition, 112 West 34th Street is next to an entrance of the city’s busiest mass transit hubs, servicing over 233 million commuters per year. During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the tenant will have exposure to 50 million national television viewers and 3.5 million attendees.
“The street’s strength and the versatility of consumers it attracts appeals to global tenants of all sizes,” continued Malkin. “For example, Swatch Group recently opened an ‘Hour Passion’ concept store at the building, in a space leased at $1,000 per square foot.”
The available retail block, most of which is presently occupied by Foot Locker, encompasses 28,651 s/f on the second floor, 23,888 s/f on the ground floor, and 36,990 s/f on the lower level, with unusually high slab to slab clear heights and a dedicated loading dock.
Mark Finkelstein of Retail Strategies, who represents Footlocker in Manhattan, was unavailable to comment on the show store’s plans.
It already has three stores on the street at 11, 120 and 142 West 34th, a space it leased in July. At that time, Finkelstein told REW: “Foot Locker does have a big presence on 34th Street and they want to maintain it. It has proven to be a terrific location for them with its combination of shopping among tourists, locals and office workers.ˮ
Asking rents for retail space on the Herald Square block range from $500 to $600 psf, according to brokers who work in the area. No word on what W&H will be asking for 112 West 34th Street.
