By LOIS WEISS
Fab footwear company Crocs has leased a global flagship in Soho at 543 Broadway where it will open this summer. https://www.crocs.com/
Crocs has made another move near Herald Square by opening at 140 West 34th Street while its own store at No. 152 is getting a facelift.
It opened at No. 140 on February 21 in 9,000 square feet that's just a slither to the east of its own green and yellow-fronted spot at No. 152.
The four-story property can also be branded across its entire exterior with a cartoony croc face if the brand so desires, just like its own home.
The new storefront was previously occupied by Vans and more recently by some holiday pop ups.
Both spaces are right across from Macy's on the south side of West 34th Street and will flank the upcoming 58,000 square-foot Primark store that will open next year in the former Old Navy.
Crocs was represented in both deals by Josh Podell of Podell Real Estate Advisors along with Michael O'Neill of Cushman & Wakefield.
The 140 West 34th Street building ownership was represented by Richard Skulnick and Evan Schuckman of Ripco. The asking rent was $1.5 million per year.
In Soho, the Crocs deal was done directly with Jared Eptstein of Aurora Capital Associates. This 4,200 square foot space includes 3,700 square feet in the basement and was previously occupied by Hershel Supply Co. which closed last year. The asking rent was $500 per foot.
This busy shopping block between Prince and Spring streets is also home to Uniqlo, Armani A/X, Swarovski and other national retailers. Calvin Klein is to open down the street at No. 530 while GU opened already in No. 568-678 that previously housed Forever 21.
According to the new Real Estate Board of New York retail report for the second half of 2024, Soho has bounced back nicely since the pandemic with leasing increasing and rents rising. The average rent on that stretch of Broadway was $489 per foot, a 1.7% increase from the first half of 2024 and a 22.3% increase year-over-year.
The West 34th Street's shopping district has not recovered as fast as Soho and other corridors, partially due to heavy real estate taxes as the city counts reimbursed real estate taxes as "new" income creating a continual bump in "fictitious" income.
The latest Real Estate Board of New York retail report for the second half of 2024 https://www.rebny.com/reports/manhattan-retail-report-second-half-2024/ found average asking rents of $436 per foot on West 34th Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues based on the ground floor. These are down 11% from the first half of 2024. Rents there peaked in the spring of 2015 when the highest average rent was $1,000 per foot.
Along with Primark https://www.primark.com/ which will open its city flagship in 2026, another new West 34th Street retailer is the city's first Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream https://www.ghirardelli.com/ that has been open since last summer at the Empire State Building.
A Dave & Adams from Upstate New York's Cooperstown and Buffalo, also opened a card trading collectibles pop-up in the base of the ESB in October while awaiting its permanent space at Empire State Realty Trust's other nearby building at 1350 Broadway. https://www.dacardworld.com/
The brokers did not immediately return requests for comment.
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