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Valentino Joins Fifth Avenue Next Year
Though work is still being completed on Valentino's three-story townhouse boutique at 821 Madison, this new store will be a high profile flagship, joining big Fifth Avenue designers like Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.
Like those labels, Valentino will now be represented on both shopping streets, which now seems to be a requirement to achieve a certain level of luxury megabrand status.
Building owner Thor Equities has announced plans to demolish part of the lavish facade in favor of an elegant stone storefront designed by British architect David Chipperfield who will also redesign the interior spaces to fit the brand's store concept. Expect a splashy debut for the new Valentino flagship sometime next year.
Real estate insiders believe Valentino’s may be the first in the city to pay $3,000 per foot—a record in the city for a ground retail store. Asking rent for the space in the heart of the city’s priciest retail district was $3,050 per square foot, up 22% this year.
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Michael Kors Soho Flagship to be World’s Largest
At 15,000 square feet, it will be the largest Michael Kors store in the world, and more than double the size of the present Rockefeller Center flagship.
The three-story space–main, second, and concourse–was previously occupied by Ralph Lauren’s Club Monaco store.
The ground level will showcase accessories, watches, shoes, jewelry, eyewear, and fragrances, with women's clothing and Michael Kors merchandise displayed on the second floor. The men's line will live on the concourse level. Kors added that even though the new Broadway outpost will carry just about everything, the other Soho store at 101 Prince Street will remain open.
Asking rents along the Broadway corridor in Soho have been rapidly increasing over recent years and have reached upwards of over $500 per square foot. The current deal at 520 Broadway the asking rent listed as 4.55 million per year, or about $300 per square foot – below average for the area.
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Fairway Continues Expansion to WTC Neighborhood
The high-end grocery chain just signed a lease for a 52,242 square foot jumbo store at 255 Greenwich Street in TriBeCa, just two blocks north of the WTC at the corner of Murray Street. The new store will have 11,358 square feet on the ground floor and 40,894 square feet on the lower level concourse.
Once upon a time, the best grocery options for Tribeca residents were the bodega, a Food Emporium or Amish Market. Now, Fairway Market is moving in, too.
Situated just two blocks from the 16-acre World Trade Center site, the supermarket plans to have a main entrance at street level on the corner of Greenwich and Murray Street with elevators and escalators to the store downstairs. The lower level has ceiling heights of over 20 feet with a dedicated loading dock and freight facilities It is projected to open in fall 2014.
The Financial District, with a booming residential population, has been criticized for not offering enough retail, especially better-quality food stores. That has changed dramatically in recent years with the arrival of Gristedes, Whole Foods and the 55 Fulton Market.
The new downtown store marks the latest entry into the pricey neighborhood.
Fairway operates 14 markets in the metropolitan area. Five are in Manhattan, including the legendary original at Broadway and 74th Street and a mammoth Harlem outpost.
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