The new Printemps fashion store, which opened on Harry McLaw's One Wall Street on Friday, “may be the most beautiful store in New York,” said Jessica Lapin, president of the Alliance's downtown.
“McLaw wouldn't have done that well,” said Joanne Podel, a retail power broker at Cushman & Wakefield, representing Chinese lifestyle chain Minizou on nearby 150 Broadway.
“It draws the right pedestrians and others [retailers] You'd want to be close to them,” she said.
But will the 55,000-square-foot Emporium, with five restaurants, lift more boats with the area's shaking retail water?
“We're already helping with the lease effort, and we're in active negotiations,” said Ripco Real Estate Principal Andrew Mandell, who markets a 7,000-square-foot former bank store front desk across the street from 71 Broadway.
The World Trade Center and Brookfield Place Shopping Complex are almost completely leased, but elsewhere it's a different story. There are many large vacant seats on South Broadway on Chambers Street. So are Fulton, Nassau, Pine and other small buildings that are primarily suitable for fast food and discounts.
Even Wall Street has many “for lease” signs despite Tiffany's honorable presence.
CBRE Vice President Jordan Kaplan said Broadway was “harmed by the influx of major retail projects in Brookfield Place, Oculus and Seaport.”
However, he said Printemps and Brooks Brothers were soon to appear in the 195 Broadway. “We're already focusing on Broadway.
Retail brokers were optimistic about the ripple effects of printemps. Most bright was Corey Zolcinski, managing director of JLL, a retailer in New York.
He said, “Retailers were hesitant to commit to Fidi's universe, but that's changing rapidly. The streets are coming back to life with Sephora, Whole Foods, Miniso and soon Brooks' brothers.”
CBRE sought rent on Broadway, south of Chambers Street in the fourth quarter of 2024, and rose 2.4% to $236 over the same period in 2023.
Steve Soutenijk of Cushman & Wakefield did not accuse the landlord of the vacant seats. “I don't think they have any irrational rent expectations,” he said. “They are totally happy to meet the market where it is.”
He said Fidi's retail rebounds since the pandemic “slows down other cities, primarily because the population in that office is the slowest coming back.”
Jeffrey Roseman of Newmark, who supported Fosun Hive Holdings, owner of 28 Liberty Street, said that if Printemps gets off to a strong start, it could be a “little anchor” for other high-end retailers.
“This is a downtown fashion anchor, as opposed to another food hall or so-called experiential use,” Roseman added.
