Vornado Fills Penn Station Retail Spaces
By Mark Hallum June 29, 2023 2:11 pm
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The total redevelopment of Pennsylvania Station might be nowhere near getting underway, but Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) is filling the train station’s halls with retail tenants.
The master tenant for the nation’s largest transit hub has signed a dozen leases, including with drugstore chain Duane Reade, which took 9,222 square feet in the Long Island Rail Road concourse, and taqueria Dos Toros, which leased 3,536 square feet, according to Vornado.
Vornado did not disclose the length of the lease or asking rents in the deal.
“We’ve been very intentional in curating a mix of local and national brands that offer something to everyone across the Penn District and its newly renovated Penn Station. Each retailer is excited about the elevated experience,” Haim Chera, head of retail for Vornado, said in a statement. “The incredible volume of people who travel through Penn Station each day surpasses that of LAX, O’Hare, and Atlanta’s Hatfield-Jackson airports combined.”
Vornado was represented in-house while it is not clear who represented the tenants in the deals.
Duane Reade is set to open in the third quarter of 2023 while Dos Toro will start doing business by the fourth quarter, according to Vornado.
The deals follow that of Shake Shack, which announced a 3,380-square-foot lease back in March, a return to the station after being cleared out from the concourse alongside all the other tenants while construction work was underway, Commercial Observer reported.
Pret a Manger is also returning after leasing 2,215 square feet. Rose’s Pizza will return as well with a 3,478-square-foot deal.
Other recent leases include Playa Bowls, which took 1,525 square feet; Le Café with 1,082 square feet; Beer Table with 924 square feet; chicken joint Raising Cane’s with 3,172 square feet; salad bar Chopt with 2,508 square feet; Gotham News with 2,194 square feet; Insomnia Cookies at 1,257 square feet; restaurant Realmuto with 922 square feet; Damselfy Florist at 543 square feet; and H&H Bagels with 1,402 square feet.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
