Business on the Increase Around Union Square

ByDon

The 4th Quarter Union Square Partnership Business Report, available here, has some interesting updates:

Union Square finished the year strong, with storefront occupancy in the BID1 reaching 91% in Q4 2025 (compared to 85% in Q4 2024). This growth reflects continued   confidence in the district and demand from both national operators and emerging local players. Around Union Square Park, five long-vacant corner storefronts are slated to welcome new business openings in 2026, including global apparel anchor UNIQLO as well as Flight Club and Voodoo Doughnut, both new to NYC.

60 businesses opened in Union Square in 2025 (11 more than in 2024). Q4’s 16 openings ranged from top retailers like Pacsun, Ulta Beauty, and Aritzia (which expanded into a new space three times its previous size), to more intimate establishments like Maison Welles and Stars. Nespresso debuted its 13,000+ SF flagship that merges traditional retail with multi-sensory coffee tastings, interactive masterclasses, and a speakeasy. While Nespresso leads in scale, smaller coffee-forward openings include unique experiences this quarter, including Ioannis Coffee Chef’s “farm-to-cup” workshops and luckin coffee’s tech-driven model. With rising occupancy and a robust tenant pipeline, Union Square enters 2026 primed for an exciting year.

Similar Posts

  • Latest New School Update

    ByDon

    Next week (November 7 to November 11), DOT approved street connections to underground utilities on Fifth Avenue and 13th street will continue. Superstructure work will continue at cellar, 1st, and 2nd floor levels. A sidewalk shed will be erected around the perimeter of the site.

    The following week (November 14 to November 18), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs. Street utility connection work will continue. A street crane will be moved into position on 13th street to place structural steel in the building.

    This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, November 5th for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 9AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork, plumbing and electrical work, and rebar for concrete placement and use of the crane and equipment to support all activities.

  • Irving Plaza Gets A Makeover

    ByDon

    Rock venue Irving Plaza is set to go quiet this summer for an eight-month renovation. The 150-year-old venue hosts its last scheduled show for the year on June 30—headlined by tropical band Guaco—before shutting down for work that is scheduled to last until next spring.

    Live Nation, the concert hall’s operator, announced the planned renovations this week along with the Polish Army Veterans Association, which has owned the building since 1948.

    The 3,300-square-foot hall was converted from a Polish-American community center into a concert venue in 1978. Since then, Irving Plaza’s marquee has listed big-name artists including Bob Dylan, the Foo Fighters, Radiohead and the Talking Heads. Paul McCartney played a surprise show there to a capacity crowd of about 1,000 on Valentine’s Day in 2015.

    But, as some Yelp reviews document, concertgoers have complained about the venue’s narrow interior and a layout that makes it difficult to buy a drink or use the restroom without missing segments of the show.

    Live Nation is promising that the venue will reopen with a revamped lobby, new bars, a downstairs VIP lounge and a remodeled mezzanine with a new configuration for box seats. A Live Nation spokesman said four new bathrooms are on the way as well.