Valentino Takes Retail Space In Vacancy-Ravaged SoHo

In what could be a boost for the hard-hit shopping district of SoHo, luxury retailer Valentino has locked down space for a new store on Spring Street.

The new store, at Invesco Real Estate’s 135 Spring St., spans two floors across 8,700 SF, according to Newmark, the broker on the deal.

“Valentino’s commitment to SoHo is a testament to the neighborhood and NYC in general. We are tracking several other luxury brands who will be adding doors in the market,” Newmark Vice Chairman Ariel Schuster said in a statement. “We believe that high-level brands still want to affirm their place in what is considered one of the most important cities in the retail world.”

Schuster arranged the lease, alongside Newmark Senior Managing Director Ross Berkowitz and Associate Director Brandon Miller, on behalf of Invesco. The rent terms of the lease were not made public; however, the neighborhood — like many prime Manhattan retail areas — has seen sharp declines in rents this year.

Overall, the price per SF for retail in the 16 prime corridors in Manhattan was down an average of 10% last quarter, per CBRE. Leasing velocity plunged to its lowest level in four years, per the brokerage.

SoHo specifically, which has seen stratospheric rents in previous years, has experienced some enormous price drops. Along Prince Street, for example, rents fell 42% from last year in Q4, going from $719 per SF in 2019 to $423 a year later.

Chanel, Amiri and La Perla have all signed deals in the last few months in SoHo, per Bloomberg, as widespread store vacancies have pushed landlords to drop asking rents. Those vacancy and rent drops across the city have allowed for a new generation of retailers to enter the market and begin setting up new physical locations, as Bisnow reported this week.