Madison Avenue Survey - March 2021

MARKETB EAT Madison Avenue Retail • Q4 2020

The Madison Avenue corridor from East 57th Street to East 72nd Street is considered New York City’s luxury submarket, home to top jewelry and haute couture fashion retailers. Known as the Gold Coast of Madison Avenue, this Midtown shopping corridor continues to be the preferred scene for global retailers searching for elite, upscale locations where prominence is assured. In addition, Madison Avenue from East 73rd to East 79th Streets is home to some of the world’s top fashion brands. While fewer tourists were able to visit New York City during 2020, the Upper East Side is also known for its affluent residential population who are drawn to boutiques such as Golden Goose, Vince, Zadig & Voltaire, and Christian Louboutin. Also lining this stretch of Madison Avenue are 5-star hotels such as The Carlyle and The Mark, and the Upper East Side’s Apple Store located on the corner of 74th Street. This area is also home to The Met Breuer Museum and many world-renowned galleries. Over the past year, Madison Avenue welcomed retailers such as FiveStory, Onia, AuRate, and Frame Denim to the neighborhood, with more to follow in 2021. Retail availability along Madison Avenue from East 57th to East 72nd Streets continued to rise throughout 2020, as it did in most of Manhattan’s retail submarkets, reaching 39.2% at the close of the fourth quarter. Madison Avenue’s rising availability is a trend that pre-dated pandemic market conditions—up 24.5% over the past five years, giving both current tenants the opportunity to relocate and expand and enabling new tenants to establish a presence on this corridor. The average asking rent at the close of 2020 was $772 per square foot (psf), down 14.3% year-over-year as new availabilities and an increasingly flexible nature regarding asking rents for already available spaces continued to put downward pressure on asking rents on Madison Avenue. During the first quarter of 2020, The Armoury leased 5,497 sf for a boutique at 840 Madison Avenue. Founded in Hong Kong in 2010, this high-end retailer has expanded from its first U.S. location in Tribeca, bringing its extensive range of custom products and bespoke services to the Upper East Side. During the second half of the year, Belgian label Maison Ullens signed a lease at 727 Madison Avenue, where it now occupies 1,254 sf for its ready-to-wear and accessories collections. Committing to its longtime presence in the neighborhood, Georgio Armani will temporarily relocate across the street to 761-765 Madison Avenue while its flagship building at 760 Madison Avenue is renovated. Subleasing from Bally on the corner of 62nd Street, Brunello Cucinelli announced plans to expand its current boutique at 683 Madison Avenue.

Availability Rates

Direct

35.8%

Sublease

3.4%

Overall

39.2%

Average Ground Floor Size

1,629 sf

Average Ground Floor Asking Rent

$772 psf

Highest Asking Rent

$1,200 psf

Lowest Asking Rent

$467 psf

Demographics

Population

7,165

Average Household Income

$268,506

Daytime Employees

47,433

Number of Retail Storefronts

176

Statistics include East 57th–East 72nd Streets

Major Retailers

© Cushman & Wakefield 2021