The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking a long-term master lessee to develop and manage retail space within the gleaming new Grand Central Madison concourse.
Transit officials released a request for proposals Tuesday for a firm to oversee retail operations across the 25,000 square feet and 32 units of commercial space within Grand Central Madison, which runs under Madison Avenue from 43rd to 48th streets. The RFP seeks a master lessee to develop a retail plan “based on the idea of high quality, yet approachable, unique tenancies.”
“We really want to increase the convenience and the excitement of this facility with innovative shops, restaurants and brands, like we’ve been pretty successful with upstairs,” MTA Chair and Chief Executive Janno Lieber said during a Tuesday news conference, referring to the retail and dining offerings throughout Grand Central Terminal. “It’s time for the MTA, together with the private sector, to begin addressing that.”
Transit officials say they’re looking for an experienced retail development and management partner who can attract and retain a variety of national, regional and small business retailers that “closely match the preferences” of Grand Central Madison customers.
That includes fast-casual dining, bars, sit-down dining, ATMs, gift shops, grocery, clothing stores and personal care services, according to a 2023 customer survey conducted by the MTA.
“The MTA is seeking proposals that showcase creative plans and concepts — plans that will enhance the overall experience of customers who travel through Grand Central Madison daily as well as the occasional visitor,” the RFP states.
Storefronts at Grand Central Madison vary in size from a compact 215 square feet to a sprawling 3,000 square feet; the concourse also includes two retail storage areas located in a back-of-house area.
A prospective lessee would be required to provide “a generous amount of kiosk outlets and flexible retail programming opportunities” along the concourse and on the Long Island Rail Road platforms below, according to the RFP. Roughly a dozen kiosks that sell coffee, baked goods and snacks currently operate on the main concourse beneath Madison Avenue.
Andrew Goldberg, vice chairman of CBRE Retail, which is the MTA’s exclusive agent for Grand Central Madison, said Tuesday that the authority is eager to embrace small, New York-based businesses among the retail offerings.
“We love mom-and-pops or local businesses that do something that’s very New York centric, and the stores are physically small enough where you can come in here and there’s not as much to do at a store here as it would be elsewhere,” Goldberg said.
Grand Central Madison sees a high of 66,000 travelers pass through its concourse during the busiest weekdays, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to the MTA.
“The other variable is you want to make the retail more connected to the neighborhood. There’s a huge population of office workers around here, we want to make this place useful to them,” Lieber said. “That is all part of the strategy here, to serve the commuting population, to serve the adjacent office workers and to create a great sense of place and dynamism.”
In anticipation of the RFP, the MTA last week inked a 10-year lease with former Penn Station watering hole Tracks Raw Bar & Grill, for roughly 2,700 square feet in Grand Central Madison. Overseeing the bar and restaurant space is required as part of the master lease.
Final proposals for the master lease are due on June 28.
The MTA aims to select a master lease holder by the fall, and hopes to have stores operational throughout 2025, with a full complement of retail tenants by 2026, according to David Florio, the MTA’s chief real estate transactions and operations officer.
“I’d like to see a very robust offering of dry goods and food and beverages up and down,” Florio said in an interview. “Right now, we’re looking forward to somebody coming in and slowly ramp-up with our ridership to provide a full suite of retail services.”
Caroline Spivack , 2024-04-02 20:35:42
Source link
