ESRT Closes Buy, Refi for NYC Retail Assets 

Empire State Realty Trust has closed a retail acquisition and a retail refinancing deal in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The company purchased a 22,000-square-foot retail property at 41-55 N. Sixth St. in Brooklyn, for $46 million. JLL arranged the deal.

The asset came online recently and is currently vacant. Additionally, it is located close to Empire State Realty Trust’s 102,000-square-foot retail portfolio along North Sixth Street.

Around the same time, the company also refinanced one of its retail assets, at 10 Union Square St., in Manhattan. The firm secured a 10-year, $54 million mortgage loan for the 58,000-square-foot property, retiring a previous $50 million note scheduled to mature at the beginning of this month. Newmark brokered the transaction.

Anchored by a Target store, the Manhattan property features a tenant roster that includes software company DarkHole and several medical office spaces. The retail center has been under Empire State Realty Trust’s ownership since 1997, when the company bought it for $17.8 million, or $308 per square foot, according to Yardi Matrix data.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Ethan Stanton and Brendan Maddigan, together with Managing Director Michael Mazzara, arranged the Brooklyn deal on behalf of the seller. Newmark Co-President Jordan Roeschlaub, Vice Chairman Nick Scribani, Associate Director Tim Polglase and Associate Niv Shahmoon brokered the Manhattan refinacing on behalf of the borrower.

High-street retail attempts a comeback

After experiencing high vacancy and lowered rental rates in the post-pandemic landscape, high-street retail is ready to make a comeback. However, due to capital shifting toward mixed-use and necessity-based retail across dense urban areas, investors are cautious when it comes to high-street retail assets, as they involve higher leasing risks and longer vacancy periods.

Downtown retail is striving to evolve into a destination, as retailers need to attract consumers through experience rather than rely on foot traffic. Adaptation through mixed-use integration now stands at the core of the sector’s recovery.