Union Square is bustling, with robust foot traffic recovery, a strong roster of new retail and office tenants, and new mixed-use residential developments in the pipeline.
Key data points from the last 12 months highlight the district’s strengths:
1.1M SF of office
space leased in the
last 12 months
58K+ average daily
riders at Union Square
-14th Street Station
13% higher visitor
activity on Greenmarket
days in USQ
370K average daily
weekday trips to the
Union Square area
78K+ SF of ground floor
retail space leased in
the last 12 months
Visitor traffic reached
a high of 109% recovery
over January 2020
DISTRICT TRENDS
USQ IS THRIVING
∫ Union Square’s residents have strong spending power,
with average household incomes nearly 75% higher than the
Manhattan average.
∫ By the end of 2023, visitor traffic hit 109% of January 2020
levels, driven by Union Square’s vibrant mix of uses and the
steady return of office workers.
∫ Leading employers choose Union Square, and the biggest
new leases represent finance, technology, hospitality, and
fin-tech.
∫ Union Square grew as a job center, with its workforce
increasing by 12% since 2023 to reach 168K employees.
The tech and innovation sector remains strong, with over 45
companies located in the area.
∫ 43 new businesses opened in the past year, 60% of which
are food and beverage establishments. Indicating a return to
in-person dining, the number of new sit-down restaurants in
the district increased by 25% over the number that opened in
the previous year.
Upscale Italian cafeteria Vapiano, at the corner of University and 13th, has closed for a big makeover. We’ll see.