What might be next in the Virgin Megastore space? The New York Post has these rumors:
RELATED Cos. is negotiating with several tenants at One Union Square South for the Virgin Megastore space, sources said. The chain, which was purchased by Related and Vornado Realty Trust in 2007, is closing the store in late May or early June. All US-based Virgin Megastores are due to shut down by the summer.
Related controls the Union Square outlet, while Vornado handles the one in Times Square, which is closing in April to make way for Forever 21, the retailer that signed a megadeal for 100,000 square feet. The two real-estate giants licensed the then 11-unit Virgin chain precisely so they’d be able to control the retail in their buildings.
Sources said the asking rent in Union Square has recently dropped to $15 million per year from $25 million. According to its CoStar Group flyers, Winick Realty is seeking $700 a foot for the 26,000-foot ground floor and $150 a foot for the 31,035-foot lower level. One Union Square South, at 52 E. 14th St., includes the hulking Metronome artwork on the lower north side of the luxury apartment tower that rises from the retail base. Some of the prospective tenants include CVS and Best Buy, which has its eye on the Circuit City space now being controlled by the bankruptcy court.
Last fall, Related signed a letter of intent with Nordstrom Rack for about 40,000 feet. But Nordstrom in the end was reportedly loath to bring its off-price success story into the Big Apple before it snagged an A-plus site for the upscale department store flagship and nixed the Union Square opening. A Nordstrom spokeswoman said, “We will keep looking for a great spot to serve our customers.”
There is also talk that Forever 21 might jump from Vornado’s Whole Foods building at 40-48 E. 14th St., which also hosts Filene’s Basement, and expand into 19,200 feet at One Union Square. The Forever 21 store, which opened right after 9/11, has seven years left on its deal. But a buyout doesn’t make sense in the current economic climate.