Report: Rent for Manhattan ground space up

New York City Average rent for retail space in high-traffic Manhattan areas, including Fifth Avenue, Meatpacking, SoHo and Times Square, have increased despite the down economy, according to the Fall Retail Report released by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Most of the primary retail corridors, however, reflected the impact of the down market and saw a market correction from all-time high retail rents.

On Fifth Avenue, asking rent for ground floor space was about $2,050 per square foot, up 46% compared with fall 2008. Asking rent for Meatpacking District ground floor space was about $375 per square foot, an increase of 23%.

Asking rent for SoHo locations increased to $483 per square foot, up 12% and Times Square asking rent was about $821 per square foot, an increase of 6%.

According to the REBNY Advisory Group, the majority of spaces in these areas are already taken and the few spaces that are available maintained asking rents from last summer before the economic downturn.

The primary retail corridors with the most sizable asking rent declines included Herald Square, where asking rent for ground floor space declined to $421 per square foot, or 35%. The Financial District corridor on Broadway between Battery Park and Chambers Street saw asking rent decline to $189 per square foot, or 25%.

Overall asking rent for retail space in Manhattan (ground floor and other) declined 9% to $117 per square foot.