What? No mention of Walmart

Walmat’s efforts to penetrate to New York have been the focus of considerable media attention the past few years so it is somewhat strange to find no mention of the company in a report out this week on commercial real estate trends.

Laura Pomerantz, a principal with the New York-based commercial real estate firm of PBS Real Estate noted that “2011 will see big changes on the streets of Manhattan. New and unexpected retailers are transforming shopping dynamics from Madison and Fifth Avenue to Times Square and the Upper West Side.”

Her fellow principal at the firm, John Brod, added, “Expect to see a rise in office rental rates driven by pressure from foreign investors, a decline in vacancy rates and a lack of new developments.”

The omission of Walmart from the retail real estate trend discussion is noteworthy because the firm’s principals go on to describe how value-oriented retail is becoming more fashionable in Manhattan. They mention companies such as Uniqlo and Urban Outfitters located on Fifth Avenue as an example along with such other retailers as Timberland, Desigual, Who A.U. and JC Penney executing leases to open on 34th Street.