пятница, 14 сентября 2012 г.

1994 was a banner year for NY retail. (Review and Forecast, Section V) - Real Estate Weekly

Looking back as far as they could, real estate professionals could not recall anytime ever before when the opening of new stores in New York City made Page One headlines in the world's newspapers. But that's the type of banner year it was.

The last twelve months will be remembered by real estate professionals as the true beginning of a retailing revolution in New York City.

First and foremost, it was the year of the large space user. The mass invasion of national chain store operations produced a retail explosion. The boom's beneficial ripples opened entire new territories and made them shoppers' destinations.

Neighborhoods such as Union Square, SoHo/NoHo and Ladies' Mile were all enriched by an influx of new stores and large stores. Yet these were not the only areas to benefit. Virtually the entire city was blanketed by economic growth.

Today's Man, Eddie Bauer, Sports Authority, Loehmann's, TJ Maxx, Channel, K-Mart, Bradlee's, Caldor, Filene's, Disney, Herman's, Toys 'R Us, and several other large chain retailers led the revolution, all seeking big blocks of space in retail districts that had been languishing throughout the past five years or more.

Beginning with New York City, the most recent Garrick-Aug retail space report shows that national retail chains are now focusing their attention here. The chains leased a major portion of the 1.363 million square feet of store space absorbed in Manhattan during the 12-month period ending June 30, 1994.

The total amount of retail space available at mid-year, 1993, was 6.486 million square feet. The total avaiable at reporting time, mid-year, 1994, was 5.123 million square feet, a decrease of 21 ~ over the 12-month period.

Reversing a decades-old reluctance to venture into New York City, the chains are rushing into Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island in order to open stores on some of the city's most famous and popular shopping thoroughfares.

National retailers are learning something that the neighborhood merchants have known since the turn of the century. That is, the strong ethnic ties that bind neighborhoods like Bensonhurst, Fordham Road, Flatbush, Forest Hills, Queens Village, Brighton Beach and Astoria also produce consumers.

Also, the long-awaited recovery of West-chester County's retail real estate sector is now in full-swing as national retail chains grab at every opportunity to lease brand new space designed with today's generation of very large stores in mind.

Large users, such as Home Depot and Price Club, who are both opening new stores in New Rochelle, and BJ's which is expected to open soon in Yorktown Heights. BJ's is part of the synergism that is powering the rebirth of the Westchester Building & Design Center.

The hottest story in the Westchester retail marketplace is the O'Connor company's brand new shopping mall, 'The Westchester,' located on Bloomingdale Road, just off Interstate 287 in White Plains.

At present, the average retail rental rates range from $20 to $35 per square foot along Central Avenue, the county's major shopping thoroughfare. Off the main retail corridor, rents are in the $20 range.

On Long Island, Roosevelt Field is expanding, adding an upper deck, an A&S store and Nordstrom's. Across the Meadowbrook Parkway, the Roosevelt Raceway property looks about ready to begin its transformation into a major shopping mecca. Owners say that the property is 100 percent pre-leased.

On the international scene, a recent report published in Women's Wear Daily states that European retailers are border-hopping across the Continent in their search for new opportunities.

Likewise, U.S. retailers have been most active in the European retail explosion. Five specialty chains crossed the Atlantic in the last 18 months. According to WWD, mail order firms are also breaking into the European market.

The most active firms are The Gap, Talbots, the Land's End catalog division and J. Crew's catalog operation. All have made inroads into the European market.

Not to be outdone, European retailers are back on Madison Avenue. The avenue,

which languished catastrophically in the early 1990s, is regaining its pre-eminence with a steady influx of European retailers into high-end store locations.

In Manhattan, the NoHo district, lower Broadway, SoHo's Prince Street and West Broadway are re-awakening with amazing economic viability.

Likewise, European owners are attracting U.S.-based retailers. As the U.S. economy works out the last kinks in its recovery, domestic landlords are still insisting on a 'strong signature' on their leases. This disincentive, coupled with some other lingering aftereffects of the recession, have forced U.S. retailers to explore the myriad attractions of Prague and Budapest.

In conclusion, property owners should be on the alert as the national chains and international stores set their sights on New York City and its wealth of uniquely configured retail districts. The next 'hot' retail neighborhood may the one we least expected.