Mac Cosmetics to Pay Highest Retail Rent in New York City History
By Jotham Sederstrom January 30, 2012 7:00 am
reprintsThe popular makeup company is looking to lease a roughly 1,400-square-foot space at 691 Fifth Avenue, a property owned by Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), one of the city’s largest commercial landlords.
The space is currently occupied by the skin care company Elizabeth Arden, but Vornado has been marketing the space for rents $3,000 per square foot or higher.
Though rates have risen on Fifth Avenue, the city’s priciest retail corridor, into the high $2,000s per square foot, many brokers familiar with the area say that $3,000 would set a new benchmark.
Sources familiar with the deal say that MAC is only in talks at 691 Fifth Avenue and that a signed lease has not yet been completed. The company, an edgy subsidiary of the cosmetics giant Estee Lauder known for professional grade makeup and its vibrant color palatte, is already a tenant of Vornado at 1540 Broadway. It signed a pricey lease at that building last year and has done well at the location, which is located in Times Square, one of the busiest retail markets in the city.
Given that store’s success, MAC is perhaps more at ease in considering the $3,000 per square foot price tag at 691 Fifth Avenue. Neither Vornado nor MAC could be reached for comment.
