Vornado Adds Fashion Retailer to Manhattan Tenant Roster

October 9, 2024

Retail Brokerage New York News More Northeast

The move is scheduled for next year.

exterior shot of 150 W. 34th Street — Primark future’s location at 150 W. 34th St. is currently occupied by Old Navy. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Primark has signed a 78,760-square-foot lease with Vornado Realty Trust at 150 W. 34th St., in the Penn District. The deal marks the Ireland-based fashion retailer’s first Manhattan store.

Currently occupied by Old Navy, the location will house Primark starting next year, with the opening slated for 2026, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

Vornado purchased the asset for $322 million back in 2015. Last year, the three-story retail center became subject to a $75 million loan provided by Morgan Stanley, according to CommercialEdge information.

Located in the Herald Square, the building is within walking distance of Penn Station and near several other Vornado properties, adding to the company’s high street retail portfolio in the district.

Vornado recently announced that its 52 percent-owned street retail joint venture agreed to sell a portion of Uniqlo’s U.S. flagship store at 666 Fifth Ave., in Midtown Manhattan, for $350 million. Net proceeds were utilized to partially pay down Vornado’s $390 million preferred equity stake in the asset.

Primark’s U.S. expansion

Primark Herald Square will be the company’s 11th store in the state of New York.

Later this year, Primark will open an outlet in Queens. The firm leased 54,562 square feet of multi-level space at Queens Center, in the borough’s Elmhurst neighborhood, in 2023.

Primark opened its first U.S. store in 2015 in the Burnham Building, part of the Millennium tower development in downtown Boston. Now the company operates 27 outlets in 11 states and will soon enter Texas with the inauguration of a new store in McAllen.

High demand for retail space in Manhattan

Manhattan’s retail market remained resilient in the second quarter of this year, driven by ongoing leasing activities and tenant expansions, alongside limited supply in prime areas.

The availability rate remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 14.1 percent—marking the lowest level in nine years—according to a Cushman & Wakefield report. Due to limited availability and high demand in prime Manhattan retail areas, asking rents rose for the seventh straight quarter, increasing 8.1 percent year-over-year.