Changing face of Fifth Avenue redefines 'shopping in style'.

Fifth Avenue from 49th Street north to 57th Street is abuzz with activity, and the zero-vacancy rate underscores that. And far from the theme store evolution that some feared would drive tony retailers away and negatively impact rental rates, the latest incarnation of this renowned area has a decidedly upscale yet affordable feel.

While maintaining its landmark status and exterior, the owners of Rockefeller Center have managed to upgrade the look of the retail tenants on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 49th and 51st Street.

Gone are the airline offices and nondescript retailers. In their place are such high profile tenants as Kenneth Cole, Banana Republic and the international cosmetics giant Sephora, each occupying several thousand square-foot corner stores.

Kenneth Cole's new flagship store consists of 20,000 square feet of retail space on two levels on the northwest corner of 49th Street. Banana Republic's new store on the northwest corner of 50th Street -- one of two units the retailer has within a two-block radius -- carries men's and women's apparel and articles for the home.

In addition to this stretch of Fifth Avenue, the retail space on Rockefeller Plaza and the side streets has been leased to the likes of J. Crew, Coach, Origins and Nautica. There is finally a reason for those who work in the area to shop here, and many in fact do.

Walk into J. Crew or Banana Republic at lunch hour or after work, and there is usually a line for the dressing rooms. Before the overhaul began, there were fewer shoppers and many tended to be tourists. Those were the days when the only attractions at Rockefeller Center were the Christmas tree and skating rink.

Today's tenants run the gamut of the price spectrum. Sure, the expensive luxury brands shoppers tend to associate with Fifth Avenue are well-represented, but so are more popular priced goods such as those carried at the new H&M store. A Swedish "cheap and chic" merchant, H&M recently opened its first New York store on the northwest corner of 51st Street with a lot of fanfare, public relations and major advertising dollars. Crowd control became enough of a concern for store personnel to limit the number of customers entering at one time. Now that H&M has opened their second NYC unit on West 34th Street, it might be possible for shoppers to squeeze into a dressing room on Fifth Avenue.

North of 51st Street, entertainment retailers like The Disney Store and The NBA Store, and nationals such as The Gap and Brooks Brothers continue to populate Fifth Avenue. In addition, the two "grande dames" of New York department stores, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, have maintained their "world-class" image despite an environment where specialty merchants seem to have the edge. In an interesting twist of events, entertainment retailer The Coca Cola Store has shuttered its doors on Fifth Avenue between 55th and 56th streets, and the Warner Bros. Studio Store on the northeast corner of 57th and Fifth Avenue is slated to close shortly.

All that glitters is still gold along this stretch of Fifth Avenue as well, as the contents of the windows of the Avenue's world-renown jewelers --Tiffany & Co., Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, Piaget and Van Cleef and Arpels -- continue to catch the attention of most passers-by.

Shoppers are still wooed by the indisputable "status" image the Avenue projects through both good and bad economic times. In yet the latest endorsement of the Avenue's destination status, international names like Louis Vuitton and Escada have decided to move their flagship locations from East 57th Street onto Fifth. Louis Vuitton will unveil its new boutique in the retail space at the southeast corner of 55th Street and Fifth Avenue in the St. Regis Hotel.

The premier Italian leather goods companies also occupy dominant positions on Fifth Avenue, including Prada (57th-56th streets), Fendi (56th Street), Ferragamo (52nd -53rd streets), and Gucci, which after an almost two-year absence from Fifth Avenue, during which time they redeveloped their property, recently unveiled its ode to minimalism on the southeast corner of 54th Street.

In another major move, the international men's wear designer Hugo Boss is opening a 24,000 square-foot, four-level retail headquarters at 717 Fifth Avenue on the southeast corner of 56th Street, just a stone's throw from Trump Tower. When completed, it will be the largest high-end men's wear retailer on Fifth Avenue. In the meantime, the shedding outside the space prominently features the company's logo.

What is the price of admission to this select club? Count on Fifth Avenue retail rents being in the range of $400 to $1,000 per square foot, depending on the size of the space, retail frontage and location on the Avenue. Just when you think that every major player is already on the street, along comes a Hugo Boss. And just when you think you know the character of this world-renown retail mecca, its make-up evolves a little more. The only constant, it seems, is that the glitter and attraction of Fifth Avenue to high-end retailers remains the same.