JEMB Realty has secured a new lease with TJ Maxx at Herald Towers in Midtown Manhattan, marking the retailer’s first new lease in the borough in ten years. According to the New York Post, TJ Maxx will occupy 40,000 square feet across two floors at 50 West 34th Street and is expected to open by year’s end. This location will be TJ Maxx’s eighth store in Manhattan.
The Commercial Observer reported that the asking rent for the 10-year lease was a blended $4 million. Data from CBRE indicates that during the fourth quarter, average ground-floor retail asking rents on West 34th Street were $405 per square foot.
Jacob Jerome of JEMB told the Observer, “the deal reinforces ‘the corridor’s role as one of the most important shopping districts in the country.’” Richard Skulnik of Ripco Real Estate represented TJ Maxx in negotiations, while JEMB handled its own representation internally.
With this agreement, occupancy at Herald Towers has reached 95 percent. Other tenants include Old Navy, MooMoo, and IT Italian Trattoria. Last spring, Old Navy signed a deal for a 55,000-square-foot flagship at Herald Towers—the largest retail lease in Manhattan at that time—though financial terms were not disclosed.
Herald Square has experienced a slower recovery compared to other major Manhattan retail corridors such as SoHo and Fifth Avenue. During last year’s first quarter, CBRE found there were 21 ground-floor retail vacancies along West 34th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues—the second-highest vacancy rate among sixteen tracked districts.
Herald Towers was previously known as the McAlpin Hotel before being acquired by JEMB in 1999 for $150 million. The property now also includes 690 apartments; studios are currently listed for $3,500 per month.
