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.
Got $15 million? That’s what it will cost you to buy the burned out deli on the corner of 13th and 5th, which has stood vacant for the past two years. At that price, and given the zoning regulations, the most likely outcome would be a 10-story luxury condo building. But now doesn’t seem to be a good time for new condo development, so there are no takers. Even the New School, which as we all know is interested in increasing its presence in the area, has said that it is uninterested in the lot. Check out the fascinating history of the building.