Madison Avenue retail corridor is expanding.

For luxury brands seeking a recognized location to house their boutiques, a Madison Avenue location traditionally meant Madison Avenue north of 57th Street. The area above 57th Street became one of the world's preeminent flagship centers for international designers and retailers, where new trends and cutting-edge fashion were introduced to the U.S. market.

However, prime retail space on Madison Avenue north of 57th Street has become increasingly scarce, and rents throughout the area have reached record levels, bordering. on $600 per square-foot. But even at these rents, there are virtually no available blocks of showcase space to satisfy the increased demand by retailers.

In this tight real estate environment, a number of prominent boutique retail tenants have identified a strong market for their products in a location many of them. never previously considered - Madison Avenue south, of 57th Street. Formerly seen as only a fiveday service-oriented retail environment, this area has grown appreciably over the past few years, in both international flavor and pedestrian traffic. (After all, Madison Avenue in the Fifties runs parallel, one block east, to the nation's premier retail opportunities on Fifth Avenue.)

Tourist traffic from hotels has also contributed to the creation of a seven-day retailing opportunity here. Additionally, many luxury brands are eager to attract top executives working in the millions of square feet of Class A office space nearby, who are unlikely to trek north of 57th Street during business hours.

Finally, rents in this area are quite reasonable (approximately $300 per square-foot) in comparison to their counterparts north of 57th Street.

As a result of these factors, several luxury brands have opened flagship stores in an area they would not have considered just a few years before, and are reaping the rewards. Davidoff and Thomas Pink are examples of retailers that fulfilled their needs for highquality "image" space through opportunities on Madison Avenue south of 57th Street. Davidoff is currently tripling its space at 535 Madison in order to better serve its growing customer base, and Thomas Pink is enjoying great success with its U.S. flagship store at 520 Madison.

And the influx of luxury retail tenants continues. Recently, Mary Quant Cosmetics of London selected space at 520 Madison for its U.S. launch, and Bauman Books, the preeminent retailer of antique books, opened its doors at 535 Madison. Johnston & Murphy has also committed to the Madison Avenue south of 57th Street market with a new prototype store at 54th and Madison.

The retail market south of 57th Street on Madison Avenue has never been stronger than it is today. Although the area north of 57th Street will always be one of New York City's premium retail corridors, an increasing number of high-end tenants are taking Madison Avenue in the Fifties very seriously.