A Q & A with Annette Healy. (Profile of the Week).

Annette Healy represents some of the world's financial and fashion tenants for retail space in New York as well as nationally. She began her business career on Wall Street in 1979.

During her retail real estate tenure, she has negotiated deals in excess of $150 million. Among her clients are TD Waterhouse (both locally and nationally) and Louis Vuitton-owned Thomas Pink 

The following is a transcription of Real Estate Weekly staff writer Steve Viuker's interview with Healy:

Real Estate Weekly: Why did you choose commercial real estate as a career?

Annette Healy: I wanted to match my enjoyment with working with an actual physical product and my financial background. Selling bonds is great but there is nothing to touch. You can't love it or hate. decided to leave Wall Street in the early 90's since commercial real estate was becoming more hospitable to women. It's better for working mothers with kids than Wall Street. You can, to a certain extent, work from. voice mail and email. You don't have to be on the trading desk. If you're kid is sick and you're in the middle of a trade, what can you do? Real estate transitions take from 3 to 9 months, so if you have to pick up your kid at school one day, it's not the end of the world.

REW: What areas of New York are strong?

Healy: Midtown is very strong. The financial players have swept in and filled in the gap as the apparel players, with a couple of exceptions, have pulled in their horns. Talbot's had been looking forever. In fact; our group did that transaction. It was a natural for them because they are already on the same block. They're a very vertical organization. They control their margins very well and don't have any retail accounts because they control their own distribution. So they have some flexibility. Although, in an environment such as this, even Talbot's had a pretty tricky time the last few months.

REW: What about the influx of discount retailers?

Healy: Even if you're a Madison Avenue woman sheathed in crocodile shoes, it is good sensible mind practice to look for a lower cost alternative for commodity items. Sixth Avenue has been particularly open to those retailers because the space has large floor plates. On Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue, you can't have the big discounters.

REW: Does Bloomingdale's opening in Soho surprise you?

Healy: No, it doesn't It had been rumored for such a long time. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time to give lower Manhattan a shot in the arm in terms of increasing tourist trade. Soho is such an appealing and attractive destination for shopping. The problems in Soho have not been on Broadway but the side streets such as Prince and Spring. The rents were bid so high by the luxury retailers than eventually you have to come back to a realistic economic model.

REW: What would you like to see regarding retail at World Trade Center site?

Healy: My recollections of my days on Wall Street are how windy it was. It would be very nice to have the streetscape be approachable without those huge towers that create those wind tunnels. It is very difficult to walk down there for a number of months of the year which is why I believe the WTC might have gone underground with retail. It would be so much more enjoyable for both the retailers and the customers and the entire area. Retailer don't love being in a "mall" situation in New York because traditionally New Yorker's have been fairly hostile to the type of shopping experience. Doing business in New York means you want to look different than the rest of the country. So I'm hopeful that there will be the right mixes of street retail, underground retail, residential, philanthropic, cultural and office space.

REW: Recently, the Olive Garden restaurant opened in Manhattan and Home Depot is looking. Any thoughts?

Healy: Keep in mind that landlords are very credit conscious. They always have been but even more so now. And to a deal with a chain instead of a local entity gives them more confidence in terms of their balance sheet. As for Home Depot; they're big problem is parking. When you go to Home Depot; how often can you walk out with your purchases? I know my car is loaded down when I shop at one. Also, the local communities have not been eager to embrace a big box retailer such as Home Depot.

REW: What has the effect of the Iraq war been on retail?

Healy: I believe the international retailers who had been contemplating coming to New York, particularly since they believed rents in Soho would come down, have put the brakes on. To give any business an excuse to wait is like giving them a present This is particularly true in an environment in which companies don't want to get involved with major capital expenditures. Without question, there has been a chilling effect in terms of international players coming over here.