Even More Luxury On Madison Avenue
New retailers are coming to Madison Avenueas the world's premier luxury shopping corridor ups the ante--and rents.
Forget the movies. Everyone knows the best way to get your name up in big letters is to go into real estate. One of the city's most prolific retail real estate brokers, NGKF Retail's Jeffrey Roseman, tells us Madison Avenue was the poster child for the downturn, as luxury retailers stuck their heads in the sand to wait it out. (Most monied shoppers didn't actually lose loads of money, but they didn't want to be seen with Barney's bags, he says.) Rents dropped as much as 40% to under $1,000/SF. Now? They're back to '05/'06 levels of $2,000/SF.
Canali, searching for 10 years for a Madison Avenue address, just opened in SL Green's renovated 625 Madison Ave at the southeast corner of 59th, and Jeffrey is also marketing 10k SF (two levels) on the other side of the office entrance at the southeast corner of 59th Street. That's where Baccarat was until just two weeks ago. That retailer, with an older customer base, downsized to space on the northeast corner.
Across the street and down a block, Bally's and Porsche's leases are rolling in a year in the GM Building. News flash: Tumi is moving in to the same building.
Down another block, the giant inflatable rat that all New Yorkers know (love or hate is a matter of debate) stares down the entrance to 600 Madison, also known as the entrance to J. Peterman's office on Seinfeld. On the northern end of the block, Montblanc is moving from the 57th Street northwest corner into Shanghai Tang's space (both are owned by Richemont), and Fendi will take Montblanc's old spot, Jeffrey says.
He also tells us Vornado has Coach's space on the east side of Madison at 57th on the market, though he can't imagine the store--which just remodeled--leaving, considering the foot traffic it has at the relatively early hour of 11am, when we snapped it. Even these luxury stores likely will stay open later, he says, with the influx of residences like the Sony Building conversion, hotels like the Four Seasons on 58th and the new Plaza, and restaurants like Tao and Lavo. The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue is open 24 hours and does 40% of its business between midnight and 9am, he says. (Hey guys, you're supposed to go to IHOP at 4am, not buy an iPod.)
The luxury is chasing the hotels, residences, and restaurants--not to mention high-end office like Tishman Speyer's 520 Madison between 53rd and 54th--south, too. The Sony Building (above, between 55th and 56th), for instance, is ripe for retail. He could see an international brand like Harrods there. Meanwhile, he says, some Fifth Avenue retailers like H.Stern and Ferragamo simply belong on Madison now that Fifth is more like a mall (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Despite the high retail rents, banks are holding their ground. TD Bank is taking this former HSBC on the southeast corner of 56th and Madison, he says, and a First Republic sits just north. Rich shoppers make for busy cash registers but also lots of bank deposits. Jeffrey tells us the Chase in the GM Building oversees more than $1B.
