NEW YORK — The departures of several tenants has given the owners of Rockefeller Center the opportunity to reinvent the property as a destination known as much for its shopping as its Christmas tree and skating rink.
Tishman-Speyer, which acquired the property with one other investor in 2001, is said to be aiming for a youthful fashion customer.
An example of this direction is the latest tenant to sign a lease, Anthropologie, which will occupy a 23,288-square-foot space at 50 Rockefeller Plaza. Anthropologie replaces Nautica, which closed last year after several years of struggling at the site.
Rockefeller Center’s tenant roster includes Kenneth Cole, Banana Republic, Coach, Cole Haan, L’Occitane, Tumi, J. Crew, Façonnable, Dean & Deluca, the NBC Experience Store and others.
Sephora closed its high-profile Fifth Avenue location at the center in 2002. That space was filled by Façonnable, which relocated its flagship to the 21,555-square-foot store on the corner of 51st Street. Sources said Sephora had too much space and wanted to bring its occupancy costs down. It opened a 5,000-square-foot store across Fifth Avenue.
Other vacancies at the center have allowed the property to accommodate temporary retail concepts, such as the temporary Isaac Mizrahi for Target collection store that made a brief appearance in 2003 and a temporary Eddie Bauer store devoted to down products.
Built in the Thirties, Rockefeller Center has 750,000 square feet of retail space, including shops and restaurants below ground. It was constructed during a time that predates the current era of megaflagships; the display windows of stores at Rockefeller Center are smaller than the typical multistory glass facades seen on Fifth Avenue.
Tishman-Speyer, which declined to comment for this story, worked with the New York City Landmarks Commission and New York City Planning to enlarge the storefronts while maintaining the architectural integrity of Rockefeller Center.
Jeffrey Paisner, executive managing director of Lansco, said, “Retailers want to create a merchandising statement. They’ve changed the size of the windows to the max” and they’re still not large enough.
“Signage is another issue,” he said. “There are major limitations regarding how they can sign themselves.”
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“It’s easy to point to the landmarking issue as a negative, but at the end of the day, the location is really what’s important,” said Robert Futterman, chairman and chief executive officer of Robert K. Futterman Associates, who represented Anthropologie. “It gets a mix of both tourists and office workers.”
The landmarking concessions make the cost of space at Rockefeller Center difficult for some retailers to justify. Paisner put prices in the $800 to $900 range per square foot on Fifth Avenue and about $400 per square foot for interior spaces on side streets and near the rink.
Rockefeller Center has plenty of foot traffic and excitement. Besides the holiday events, it hosts an annual car show, flower show and various art exhibitions. Entertainment-oriented stores include Pokemon, the NBC Store and the Metropolitan Museum Store.
“The owners realize that there is a big need for junior-type tenants,” Paisner added. “It’s really not a luxury center.”
Futterman said there’s lots of opportunity to bring sought-after tenants to Rockefeller Center. Barnes & Noble, for example, moved across Fifth Avenue, leaving 20,000 square feet of space vacant.
He said a good addition to the tenant roster would be “something younger and more in line with what’s happening on Fifth Avenue, where you have Zara, American Girl Place and Abercrombie & Fitch opening. I’d like to see Quiksilver, American Eagle Outfitters, Urban Outfitters, Diesel or Forever 21.”
“Tishman-Speyer had these plans to get this core of luxury tenants,” Paisner said. “Getting Christie’s [auction house as a tenant] in the beginning made them think they could. At the end of the day, Rockefeller Center attracts tourists with their kids.”
Those tourists need a place to eat. Reportedly, La Goulue has signed a lease to open a bistro described as being in the vein of Balthazar. “That’s what they need,” said Futterman. “Something that will stay open later.
“The owners of Rock Center are getting hipper,” Futterman added.