It’s a new day for The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards.
Retail square footage has been reduced and converted to additional office space. Several stores and restaurants have opened in recent seasons, moving in where others have left. And some retailers have been updated with expansions and more efficient shopping layouts.
In August, Related Cos. and Oxford Properties, which own the $25 billion Hudson Yards mixed-use complex, hired Odyssey Retail Advisors to bring in better, more relevant tenants, and step up leasing efforts. It’s been seven years since the launch of The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards, situated in 20 Hudson Yards, and leases are beginning to turn.
There’s already been significant change in the mall’s retail composition, especially over the past two years, when 27 stores opened, and six relocated. Among the openings seen on the main floor are Moschino, Preston Lane, Marc Jacobs, Laduree Café, La Maison Du Chocolat and Roberto Coin.
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On level two, Meulien, Aesop and Baked by Melissa opened and Miznon reopened after closing during COVID-19. Rhone expanded to 2,395 square feet, from 900; Studs expanded to 1,059 square feet from 400 square feet. PIQ, the gift and novelty store, and Van Leeuwen ice cream relocated after being situated on other floors.
On level three, Aroma 360 and Mango opened; Zara expanded with a new concept and better configuration after being split on levels three and four, and H&M moved to a new space after also being on levels three and four.
On level four, Eataly, Naya, Viva La Crepe, Joe & the Juice and the L’Oréal Academy of Beauty all opened, and additional fast-casual culinary options are expected to debut soon.
Beyond The Shops & Restaurants, in and around Hudson Yards, Oyamel and Warby Parker opened at 50 Hudson Yards, Plaza M Spa opened at 531 West 30th Street, Locanda Verde and Los Tacos No. 1 opened at 50 Hudson Yards, and Txula opened within Mercado Little Spain at 10 Hudson Yards. In addition, SLT, a format for high-intensity workouts, is opening next month at 525 West 30th Street.
The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards had a grand slam opening in March 2019 with crowds pouring in out of a sense of awe and curiosity, and actress and singer Liza Minnelli performing at the party. The site includes over 400,000 square feet of office space and approximately 400,000 square feet of retail. Initially, there was a total of 750,000 square feet of leasable but the office space increased somewhat by recouping some common space and an atrium.
There was initial skepticism over the retail center’s viability and from how far away it could draw shoppers, though that seems to have waned with all the changes. Whether Manhattan really needed a mall on the far west side of Manhattan was also been debated, given the city’s already saturated retail landscape.
Initial reviews about the Hudson Yards architecture were mixed, with some calling it modern and luxurious, others considering it sterile and isolated. However, the extension of the 7 subway line in September 2015 made the destination more accessible for many, and there have been additional projects completed in Midtown on the West Side, creating a continuum from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station to Hudson Yards.
A year after The Shops & Restaurants debuted, COVID-19 hit. Office workers, tourists and shoppers faded from the scene, and over time, a string of retail and restaurant departures occurred, notably the then-bankrupt Neiman Marcus, as well as the Dallas-based Forty Five Ten, which had a spread of four boutiques. Citarella, the gourmet market; the 3Den lounge with its co-working space and café; Beta, an electronics and technology store, and Micro Kickboard, a Scooter company that failed, also left. Compounding the situation, The Vessel, the 15-story honeycomb-shaped sculpture that visitors could climb and is situated directly in front of the mall, closed temporarily after being the scene of four suicides. It reopened in October 2024 with added safety features.
Wells Fargo is expanding by 400,000 square feet at Hudson Yards, joining other major office tenants KKR, BlackRock, Meta, SAP, Boston Consulting Group and Tapestry Inc.
Real estate sources said the ground floor retail has been performing well, as are the restaurants, while retailing gets more challenging on the upper floors, with some exceptions. Much of the retail turnover involved changing out more moderate retail concepts. “The center is finding its footing, but there was an anticipation of far greater sales,” said one industry source. “Traffic is growing but there is a sense that they need to further improve the merchandising. Initial lease deals were percentage sale rents and the landlord paying for build-outs. A lot of leases are up this year.” Related’s other major development, the Shops at Columbus Circle, is situated in an area with a greater residential population, and is more productive. It opened in February 2004.
“Since coming out of COVID, then introducing Wells Fargo into the building and right-sizing the retail, there’s been a repositioning happening at Hudson Yards for the last 18 to 24 months,” said Esty Ottensoser, vice president of retail at Related, in an interview.
“The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards is 93 percent occupied and our office space is 100 percent leased at the moment,” Ottensoser said. “Monday through Thursday we see between 18,000 and 22,000 office workers here.”
Between the office workers, residents in the area, and visitors from outside, “there’s a lot of density here, and we’re seeing it in our conversions,” Ottensoser said, referring to store visitors who actually make a purchase. The center’s sales productivity currently stands at $1,700 a square foot across the four retail floors, and is up double digits year-to-date, she said.
The luxury component generates double the overall productivity, according to Hudson Yards.
“A lot of new retailers and a lot of new food and beverage have been added over the past two years. It’s had a great impact on the project’s sales productivity,” said Rick Strauss, partner at Odyssey, who participated in the interview. “Utilizing the square footage that was Neiman Marcus for Wells Fargo, and then right-sizing the retail space for stores down to 261,000 square feet was very smart.”
Retail is now confined to levels one, two, three and four though food and beverage takes up most of level four.
“The skepticism is beginning to dissipate,” said Ottensoser.
Some “very positive” stories on retail performance have emerged, she said. “This really is the place to be. You see it in the office occupancy. It’s ‘class A’ caliber office space, and we see ourselves as a ‘class A’ shopping center. There’s a lot of density here and it’s not just because of our project. It’s also what Brookfield has been doing and what Tishman has been doing,” in further developing the area. “There’s a lot happening here. There are definitely always underperforming retailers. But most of our retailers have stayed with us.”
“Opening a year before COVID hit was unlucky, and obviously bad timing,” said Strauss. “Related, to some degree, was a pioneer on the West Side when they opened this project,” introducing office, residential and retail to what was largely seen as an urban wasteland. “Related was the first. The Penn West corridor is very young, but it has filled in. Look what’s happened just to the east of Hudson Yards,” Strauss said.
Since The Shops & Restaurants cut the ribbon, Brookfield’s Manhattan West mixed-use complex, which includes the Pendry Hotel, the Moynihan Train Hall, and Tishman Speyer’s Spiral office and retail skyscraper opened. The Javits Center and the High Line both expanded as well.
“The corridor I would say has come of age, and it’s now being highly productive because of the density of office and residential and the drawing power of good retail and good food and beverage businesses,” said Strauss. “The West Side has become a much better catchment area.” There have been approximately 2,500 rentals added in and around Hudson Yards since 2019, and Related has proposed adding thousands of additional residences above the Western Rail Yards, seeing a demand to reside in the neighborhood. The Shops & Restaurants sits atop the Eastern Rail Yards servicing the Long Island Rail Road and other train lines.
“We did a full analysis once we got involved of the project, to [examine] the strengths of the project, understand who’s performing, who’s not performing, what segments are performing, what segments are not performing, and where there’s opportunity to grow with retailers or replace those that are underperforming and with better, relevant tenants,” Strauss said. “What has become very apparent is the upscale retail is highly outperforming, which is why they saw fit to bring us in to help with expanding that upscale retail.”
Dior, Fendi, Cartier and Watches of Switzerland are among the luxury firms reportedly doing well at Hudson Yards. In the moderate price segments, Alo, Uniqlo, Zara, and Aritzia are said to be performing well. Aesop skin care is also performing well.
“We do see opportunity to continue to grow fashion for women’s ready-to-wear, men’s ready-to-wear and women’s shoes,” Strauss said. “Men’s shoes in the upscale segment we need to grow and continue to embrace, because that’s been strong so far. But more is needed. We’re going to raise the entire performance of the project by bringing in more relevant brands.”
“The fact that we have a Russ & Daughters here that performs extremely well, a Locanda Verde which opened about a year ago which has been a local TriBeCa [hot] spot, and Los Tacos, says we’ve done a good job creating this very local neighborhood feel,” said Ottensoser. “Many didn’t think we could do it.” Russ & Daughters is a family-owned New York City institution, established in 1914, well known for its traditional Jewish cuisine. Locanda Verde is an often bustling Italian tavern.
“There are some vacancies but we also have tenants with leases coming up,” said Strauss. “We can either choose to renew them or replace them. That’s giving us plenty of opportunity to bring in new tenants. Over the next two years you’re really going to see momentum with more significant changes.” He said lease terms anywhere from five to 10 years is typical these days. “So that gives you constant ability to turn and stay relevant.”
Initially, Related extended generous incentives to encourage Neiman Marcus and other retailers to sign leases before The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards was launched. “We’re not really doing that anymore, because now it’s a second generation” of leases being signed or renewed. “Now you’re able to make deals that are much more just straight up, deals that are more traditional. But it’s not only that it’s second generation of leases, it’s also because 93 percent of the retail space has stores operating.
“As we speak, there’s a handful of tenants that are under construction, so it’s actually higher percentage leased.”
Discussing the goals and vision for the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards, Ottensoser stressed the importance of increasing the center’s appeal to tourists, residents in the area and the office worker population. It’s possible, she said, to further grow the catchment area. “We can have people coming from further north and further south to shop and dine here. And if we can continue to improve the merchandising, you’re going to grow that catchment area. There’s still so much that we can do to get a larger slice of the pie. There’s are a lot of places for tourists to visit in Manhattan, and we’ve seen a lot of them already, but there are plenty of tourists that we haven’t captured.
“Locanda Verde and Russ & Daughters, all these New York establishments, have opened with us,” Ottensoser said. “Locanda Verde has been downtown on Bond Street for 22 years. They never opened another location in New York City until they came to Hudson Yards, to the fifth floor. They knew they wanted to be here. They knew we had the density.
“We host Frieze New York now at Hudson Yards. And I’m sure you have seen the video with Tom Hanks. He’s out there singing about the Shed at Hudson Yards, and he’s performing there right now,” in the play “This World of Tomorrow.”
“So you know, there’s a lot happening here.”
