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WHO NEEDS RETAIL PARKING?

New York
WHO NEEDS RETAIL PARKING?
Day 2 at ICSC NY. Sure stacked retail (like Atlantic Terminal and Uniqlo's new Fifth Avenue store) are all the rage, but the ground-floor segments in office and apartment buildings are flying off the shelves like Furbies. (Editor's note: Our NY writer just got back from a vacation to...1998?)
Peter Ripka, Larry Rose, Patrick Smith, Mike Shanahan, Daniel Shallit, and Dennis Bachman at Hilton New York on Dec. 6, 2011
We stopped by the vertical retail panel and snapped Ripco Real Estate's Peter Ripka, RK Realty Advisors' Larry Rose, BJ's Wholesale Club's Patrick Smith, Burlington Coat Factory's Mike Shanahan, Sports Authority's Daniel Shallit, and Wakefern Food's (ShopRite) Dennis Bachman. Larry says Atlantic Center in Brooklyn's 650 parking spaces proved so superfluous that they were being rented to monthly parkers. Thus Atlantic Terminal rose with no parking of its own. Parking, it seems, is no longer sacred. Daniel adds that Sports Authority has learned to put impulse purchases on higher floors, even if that means people lugging bikes downstairs for purchase (retail imitating life—in Manhattan, at least).

Newmark Knight Frank Retail's Jeff Rosen, with colleagues Kristina Dedekian, and Ben Birnbaum
Newmark Knight Frank Retail's Jeff Roseman, with colleagues Kristina Dedekian and Ben Birnbaum, tells us he's twice as busy as he was last year. He's currently repping SL Green and The Moinian Group for 55k SF at 3 Columbus Circle—retail space that's poised to get more action, thanks to Young & Rubicam's 340k SF anchor office lease/condo interest announced Monday. “We're already talking to a few tenants,” he says. He's also bullish for 2012, now that tenants are clamoring for deals rather than brokers pushing spaces on them. Retailers expanding include food, fitness, and the Uniqlos and Zaras of the world.
CBRE's Nina Kampler and Gary Trock
CBRE's Nina Kampler and Gary Trock during a rare quiet moment. The floors were full of energy this week, Nina says, with people focused, engaged, enthusiastic, and productive. “New York retail is obviously still on fire, but retailers are also growing all around the country. Our outlook is very positive for 2012,” she says. Gary says CBRE is marketing the remaining 30k SF of retail space at the New York Times Building, the Rothman's space at 200 Park Ave South, and the Saks Fifth Avenue space in Southampton, Long Island.
Freddie Lewis Archer, Michael Ewing, Amy Rice, Nate Fishkin, Howard Riker, and Jason Jacobson at NY Hilton on Dec. 5, 2011
We also snapped Lewis Real Estate Services' Freddie Lewis Archer, Williams Jackson Ewing's Michael Ewing, Hines' Amy Rice, Avenue A's Nate Fishkin, Hines' Howard Riker, and Archstone's Jason Jacobson. Michael tells us his firm is leasing retail at Grand Central and AvalonBay's Chrystie Place. They've already placed there a 75k SF Whole Foods, French gastropub DBGB (a take on both CBGB, which used to be nearby, and Daniel Boulud Great Burger), Veselka's second location, and Blue & Cream (an import from the Hamptons). The not-really-secret-any-longer Extra Place in the back alley will also feature eight emerging retailers, and a few are already open, Michael says.
Winick Realty's Ross Burack, Kelly Gedinsky, and Louis Eisinger
Winick Realty's Ross Burack, Kelly Gedinsky, and Louis Eisinger. Kelly's repping a 10k SF retail space at 1270 Lexington, a former Emigrant Bank location that's available for the first time in three decades. And Ross is on CEO Jeff Winick's team for 535 Fifth Ave, one of the last opportunities (20k SF) to grab retail space on Fifth above 42nd Street, he says. This week, Winick launched an agent training program aimed at attracting, developing, and retaining young prospects who begin their experience in Winick's canvassing department, learning NYC's retail landscape and expertise in a specific territory. They then go on to learn the fundamentals, supporting the company's seasoned agents and executives, and upon completion have the opportunity to be promoted to agents.