BY DENNIS LYNCH | Related Companies have leased 60% of its retail and dining space at the Hudson Yards mega-development, the developer announced on Nov. 30.
The latest tenants to sign leases are a mix of luxury and mid-range retail brands, including AG Jeans by Adriano Goldschmied, Aritzia, Athleta, Banana Republic, The Body Shop, Kiehl’s, Jo Malone, MAC Cosmetics, NYX, Origins, Sephora and Urban Decay. They join Neiman Marcus, H&M, Zara, Coach, and Stewart Weitzman.
Webber Hudson, an executive vice-president with Related’s mixed-use division, Related Urban, said the company’s goal is to bring in “an assortment of retailers so there is literally something for everyone in the neighborhood.”
The European luxury timepiece merchant Watches of Switzerland will open its first store stateside at Hudson Yards. The 6,000 square-foot showroom will feature a number of high-end brands such as Rolex, Hublot, and Patek Philippe. Brian Duffy, chief executive of the retailer’s parent company Aurum Holdings Ltd., said Hudson Yards is “where we belong.”
“Hudson Yards is a fantastic development in a great location, and its focus on luxury retail present Watches of Switzerland with the perfect opportunity launch its first US outlet,” Duffy said, adding that it was a “landmark moment” in the company’s history.
The seven-story retail and dining complex at Hudson Yards — called “The Shops & Restaurants” — is sandwiched between the 10 and 30 Hudson Yards commercial towers, and will have around 100 tenants total. Luxury retailers will occupy 20% of that space, mostly on the first floor according to Hudson.
To “create a flow within the complex,” Related will place luxury brands on the first floor, contemporary brands the second floor, “large volume retailers” on the third and fourth floors, and the food, beverage, and the anchor Neiman Marcus department store on the top floors, Hudson said.
“The design and layout of the Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards pays homage to the great old emporiums and how those department stores were laid out,” he added.
Related said more than a dozen “specialty restaurants and food concepts” will open there, and chefs Thomas Keller, Costas Spiliadis, and José Andrés have already planned restaurants.
First level retail rents are going for between $400-$750 per square-foot, and upper level rents in the $200-per-square-foot range, according to Related. The shopping center will also feature a five-story open atrium and a massive glass wall that will reflect the city skyline. It will open in the fall of 2018 along with the public square and garden directly outside the complex, according to Related.
Hudson Yards is also attracting commercial tenants from other parts of the city, particularly around Midtown. Just over a third of all the office space (in terms of square-footage) at Hudson Yards is currently or will soon be occupied by companies once located in Midtown East, according to the New York Post.
Elsewhere in Hudson Yards, there are a total of 4,000 residences, 14 acres of public space, an Equinox luxury hotel, and a 750-seat public school. There is already a 7,000-person waiting list for residential spaces, according to Related.
