New Life in the Big Apple

With perhaps the greatest corners in all of retail, Manhattan is awaiting another winner—as a new project at 72nd Street and Broadway has launched development. Located at 2075 Broadway, at the southwest corner of 72nd Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the project known simply as “72nd and Broadway” broke ground late in 2007, with a projected completion date of fourth quarter 2009.

Featuring five retail floors, with ground-floor ceiling heights of 22 ft. and glass storefronts with 200 ft. of wraparound frontage, 72nd and Broadway is being developed by New York City-based 2075 Holdings, a joint venture of local developers Rhodes NY and Philips International.

According to Lynette Tulkoff, director of development for the project, 72nd and Broadway’s greatest asset is, not surprisingly, its location. “The retail sits on what I consider one of the most significant corners being developed perhaps in the world,” she said. “It has completely protected sight lines—not because there’s a park across the street, which kills retail, but because 72nd and Broadway is opposite the 72nd Street subway station.”

In fact, the ridership for the heavily traveled subway station is 11.2 million people annually—a staggering statistic that bodes well for a highly visible retail development directly across the street. Other neighborhood statistics, such as an estimated average household income of $180,000 and an average resident age of 35-40, add to the project’s appeal and potential. So does the building’s corner position.

“The shape of the corner is about 112 degrees,” explained Tulkoff, “so it’s not your typical right angle. If you stand anywhere in the area, you have front-on visibility of the retail.”

Height restrictions limit the entire building to 210 ft. “We knew we had to fill the envelope, so we created five levels of retail and maximized the visibility by creating the largest spans of glass possible.” The building facade features recessed columns and average spans between columns of 20 ft. to 25 ft. instead of the customary residential spans of 10 ft. to 12 ft. The five floors of retail space range in square footage: The mezzanine measures 3,725 sq. ft., the ground floor is 9,300 sq. ft., the second floor is 11,000-plus sq. ft., and the lower and sub-lower levels encompass about 23,000 sq. ft. between them.

While no retail commitments have been announced yet, the developers are targeting neighborhood specialty retail, including a grocer, fashion, home furnishing and technology retailers, and, potentially, luxury tenants. “There’s no better branding corner, I would argue,” said Tulkoff, “so we believe upscale tenants would be well-suited to 72nd and Broadway.”

2075 Broadway is a green building, seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver-level certification.