SoHo's soaring rents keep storefronts empty

New York

AT THE height of the recession, as most of the United States struggled, SoHo thrived. Between 2010 and 2014, rents for stores in the former industrial district in lower Manhattan soared by 75 per cent, to an annual US$860 per sq ft (psf), or US$4.3 million a year for a 5,000 sq ft storefront, as national chains pushed into the neighbourhood, willing to pay seemingly any price to get a piece of the action.

Those were the good old days. Now, with New York City's unemployment at near historic lows and the economy humming along, empty storefronts dot SoHo's streets, with 16 in the six-block stretch of Broadway between Houston and Canal streets, the area's retail spine. More stud the side streets, dark gaps between boutiques selling high fashion and designer furniture and the occasional remaining art gallery.