Retail opportunities exist despite tight space market.

The retail market continues to be a hotbed of activity in New York in 1999. Manhattan, being the tourist and financial capital of the world, has always been a prime target for retailers, but with the city's local economy particularly strong now and tourism at an all-time high, interest among national retailers has heightened and competition for limited retail space throughout the city has become fierce.

Very little retail space can be newly built or created in Manhattan's most popular retail neighborhoods, so for every space that is available, there are several qualified contenders.

Trying to capitalize on the intense demand for space, developers are upgrading spots all over the Big Apple to attract retailers. Older, well-established developments like Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station and Times square are being revitalized. One of the more talked about projects is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revitalization of Grand Central Terminal. GCT Venture, a joint partnership with LaSalle Partners and Williams Jackson Ewing, will manage the 170,000 square-foot retail enhancement at the terminal. New tenants, including Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole and Discovery Channel Store, will join returning tenants Chase Bank, Hudson News and others at the development.

Further west on 42nd Street, the Times square area continues its revitalization as Tishman Urban Development Corporation develops E Walk, a 200,000 square-foot entertainment and retail strip between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Retail has also infiltrated other neighborhoods where rent is more manageable than in Midtown, creating new shopping corridors such as in SoHo. Not long ago, SoHo was better known for its art galleries, spacious loft apartments and boutique shops. In the past two years, however, SoHo has evolved into one of the hottest retail areas in Manhattan. It is now an established retail location and must always be considered by top fashion companies and retailers seeking space to complement their uptown locations.

Drawn by the unique flavor of its cobblestone streets and cast-iron buildings, numerous prestigious retailers have moved to SoHo to capitalize on its high volume of upscale, seven-day-a-week pedestrian traffic, including foreign tourists, suburban day-trippers, Wall Streeters, local residents and other Manhattanites.

Retailers that have set up shop on West Broadway, Spring, Wooster, Greene and Prince streets include Louis Vuitton, Helmut Lang (Greene Street); Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Dolce & Gabbana (West Broadway); Prada (Wooster Street); and H. Stern (Prince Street). More recently, Yves St. Laurent has obtained space on Wooster St. and Casino has secured a lease for its G-shock division on West Broadway.

The section of Broadway between Houston Street and Canal Street, meanwhile, continues to attract national retailers such as Banana Republic Men, Banana Republic Women, Old Navy, Zara, Guess, Sephora and Club Monaco. The strip is also home to Pottery Barn, Kenneth Cole, Armani A/X, Eddie Bauer and Victoria's Secret.

The rapid influx of high-quality tenants has generated enormous excitement in the retail community - not only establishing SoHo as a major retail destination, but also causing rents to escalate and forcing out galleries and specialty stores. Whereas rents were between $75 and $100 per square foot two years ago, they now range from $125 to over $200 per square foot.

Indeed, SoHo is a microcosm of the red-hot Manhattan real estate market, where space is scarce and rents have risen dramatically all over the market. While there's no cooldown in sight, retailers looking for space should strike while the market is hot.

Despite the tight market conditions, there are still opportunities in high-visibility locations for retailers who aggressively search out hidden space. For example, in only 18 months Newmark's Retail Services Group obtained six corner retail locations for Lenscrafters - 530 Fifth Avenue, 150 Fifth Avenue, 777 Third Avenue, 1941 Third Avenue and 1148 Third Avenue in Manhattan, and a store at the Eastchester Shopping Center in Westchester, NY - putting the client on track to achieve its tri-state expansion goals. More recently, we secured the second Manhattan retail location for Rockport by negotiating a long-term lease for 3,500 square feet at 465 Broadway in SoHo. Other recent transactions include Missoni's New York flagship store at 1001 Madison Avenue; Paul & Shark's 3,300 square foot lease at 772 Madison Avenue for its U.S. flagship store; RCS Computer Experience's deals for 6,870 square feet at 1230 Avenue of the Americas (in Rockefeller Center) and a 5,500 square-foot New York flagship store at 575 Madison Avenue; and Vanishing Point's two 1,200 square-foot locations (4 West 16th Street and 102 West 73rd Street). /Madison, SoHo, Fifth and Flatiron continue leading NY retail revival