Union Square Park and its surrounding area lost much of their good time juice after the popular coffee shop in Union Square West closed in 2018 and the Blue Water Grill followed history in 2019.
Even if the famous retailer on East 14th Street and the popular green market still attracts crowds, I never felt the exact same.
But now the park is located on retail and restaurant lease rolls. As reported by the Union Square Partnership, storefronts around the park are occupied by 82%, with a jump of 68% in the last quarter of 2024.
Major new tenants will open in the coming months or include restaurants Seahorse, Flight Club and Smashy.
A huge front post base at the popular Steakhouse STK is coming to the corner of 200 Park Avenue South. This has been dark since Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa closed in 2020.
The pop-up shop fills long hierarchical spaces, including Mets House at 1 Union Square West. The upper floors are snatched by Fred Astaire Dance Studios at 857 Broadway and nutrition provider Nourish at 853 Broadway.
According to the partnership, the region has seen 28% visits by office workers since the first quarter of 2024.
Although the organization’s report did not mention it, a key morale booster dismantled scaffolding at Barnes & Noble at 33 E. 17th St., the northern tip of the park late last year.
And there is a relatively small Union Square submarket delay on the office front. Cushman & Wakefield reports that the 110,000-square-foot lease in the first quarter fell slightly below the five-year average.
Still, at least 20 storefronts remain in darkness, particularly in the United States, over 700 to 9,000 square feet.
I wrote a few months ago by Adellco, a former publisher at 114 E. 25th St., which I wrote about a house in Armorie, a loft-like condominium apartment.
A single, unidentified buyer (who remained anonymous for a long time) took all 20 units and first-floor commercial space for $71 million.
The purchase is said to have come days after the apartment was made public for sale and in the midst of Wall Street turbulence against tariffs.
