Macy’s mulls rooftop park atop New York City flagship

Macy’s is toying with a lofty idea that could create more traffic at its Herald Square store in New York City.



With an eye on attracting more shoppers to its 2.2 million sq. ft. building on 34th Street in New York City, Macy’s is considering a “rooftop park” atop its flagship store. Greenery and benches would highlight both indoor and outdoor destinations, including restaurants, “that would drive traffic to the roof for dinner or drinks, and then through the store as shoppers migrate back down,” Doug Sessler, Macy’s VP of real estate said during the company’s investors meeting on June 6.



Sessler described the store as the company’s largest, most complex and most valuable piece of real estate. And that value continues to grow.



“That store is getting more valuable by the day as the center of gravity in Manhattan shifts southwest to Hudson Yards and Penn Station,” said Sessler. “We are right in that path and want to use enhanced traffic not only to create volume in the store, but also to create more real estate value.”



Sessler explained that this is one concept the company is exploring. There are no solid plans for the space — yet. “It gives an idea for the level of concepts we are thinking about,” he said.



“When I joined Macy’s, I was warned the company is run by retailers and might not be given the opportunity to do good things with real estate,” Sessler added. “Yet, I’ve had support to experiment and do things that the company wouldn’t have considered before.”