Downtown retailers buoyed by tourism

Real Estate Weekly, March 13, 2002 by Parke Chapman

In a few years; the biggest tourist draw in New York City could be the Sept. 11 memorial downtown.

"It will outperform the Metropolitan Museum of Art," said Lower Manhattan Development Corporation chairman John Whitehead recently.

If so, other retailers could be lured downtown to take advantage of the many tourists. With far fewer office tenants here, tourism has injected needed cash into retail coffers.

"Weekends have been strong here. The ticket. booth for the Ground Zero viewing platform is located here in the seaport," said Paul Harnett, general manager of the Rouse Company, a REIT that owns the South Street Seaport.

The South Street Seaport Museum reports that 6,300 tickets per day are handed out during weekends-and close to that many are being handed out during the week.

He characterized the seaport's retail tenants as "two-thirds mom and pop"-style merchants. Still, he is actively seeking out several national retailers interested in leasing space here.

"The Trade Center's concourse level had very strong national retail. We would very much like to absorb some of these displaced tenants," he said.

Few of the displaced tenants have rented space downtown. The problem, according to one retail broker, is that a comparable retail mall just doesn't exist downtown.

"There was a waiting list for retail space under the Trade Center. But that concourse isn't replaceable. Some of these tenants might consider moving to the South Street Seaport, but it would take a real pioneer here," said Robin Abrams, a retail broker with Lansco.

A pressing issue downtown is transportation, with all of the disruptions caused by Sept. ii. This fall, the Dowtown Alliance will begin the Downtown Connection-a free electric bus service that will connect the South Street Seaport with northern Battery Park City. Riders will be able to get on and off of the bus at designated stops. A map of the route will featured on the Alliance's website soon.

American Express is moving back into 3 World Financial Center, where it occupied one million SF of space prior to Sept. 11.

Amex officials say that a phased relocation of its staff will begin next month. The staff will be moving from space Amex rented in New Jersey and Stamford, Connecticut.

560 Amex staff now working in Jersey City will relocate back to lower Manhattan.

The relocation will eventually place 3,500 staff at 3 WFC, one of several buildings damaged on Sept. ii. In 4 WFC, Starbucks, Godiva, and California Burritto are all back in business, as well as a florist and newsstand.

Amex will also have 500 employees working out of 40 Wall Street across