The Sky’s the Limit for Nordstrom
The New York press has been all abuzz over the latest news about Nordstrom’s new Manhattan digs – that the West 57th Street space is officially Nordstrom’s.
The news first broke last June that the Seattle-based retailer, after a 20+-year search, had finally settled on a site for its first Manhattan store – in the base of a planned one million-sq.-ft skyscraper on 57th Street, east of Broadway. At the time, Nordstrom had agreed to buy its portion of the building – about 285,000 sq. ft. – with a slated move-in date of 2018.
Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that Nordstrom has paid $102.5 million to own its site at 225 W. 57th St., occupying the first seven floors of an 88-story residential condominium tower that will stretch past even the Empire State Building. The deal was propelled forward when New York real estate developer Gary Barnett (Extell Development) acquired the Beethoven piano building at 223 W. 58th St. for $25 million, securing the final piece to the planned skyscraper’s real estate puzzle.
According to the Post, that $100 million from Nordstrom – a down payment on what is said to be about a $300 million deal – will allow Barnett to launch development on the skyscraper; the plan is in design and has not been approved by the NYC buildings department.
The new Nordstrom will feature 175,000 sq. ft. of floor space, and is considered a really big deal among retail and real estate circles. A new department store in Manhattan is a rarity – and, if Nordstrom can continue its elevated service levels in the world’s biggest retail arena, the sky’s the limit. I, for one, will be watching the progress of this new store with great interest.