Breaking Down the Changing Retail Scene on 57th Street

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

If you've been looking up in the sky in midtown these days, it's not birds or planes you've been seeing, but the looming towers poised to take over 57th Street. And along with the hyper-luxurious high rises comes shopping—well, eventually (here's looking at you, Nordstrom).

"With a series of luxury condos and hotels joining an already robust commercial market, and landmarks like Carnegie Hall, West 57th is primed to become one of the hottest streets on the entire island of Manhattan," real estate firm Thor Equities chief executive Joseph Sitt told The Real Deal, which recently examined the stretch of road between Lexington and Eighth Avenues. Below, a quick and dirty recap on the retail news in that area that you need to know.

· Niketown has reportedly been looking to vacate its home at 6 East 57th Street when its lease is up in 2017. It's not the end of the activewear mecca, though—the brand has previously looked at 640 Fifth Avenue which is currently occupied by one of three H&Ms on that stretch of the block.

· Thor Equities recently snatched up the building that houses Lee's Art Shop, which is across the street from the future Nordstrom. No word on if the iconic store will be on the move.

· What's poised to take over the old Daffy's space between Lexington and Park Avenues? Nothing—yet. But brokers are marketing several addresses on that block as a single space totaling 72,000 square feet "in the heart of the Bloomingdale's trade area."

· Geox is on its way out on the corner of Madison Avenue. The Italian shoe chain's space is currently being marketed for $1,900 per square foot. To its east are Turnbull & Asser and Jacob & Co.; to its right: Chanel, Dior, Burberry Breitling, Yves Saint Laurent, and more—so look for another high-end tenant to come in here.

· At 49 West 57th Street (just down the street from the old Rizzoli site), discount retailer Strawberry is on its last legs—its space near Sixth Avenue is being marketed for $325 per square foot.

In total, expect hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space to come to this area over the next few years. "I don't see change happening overnight," Lansco Corp. executive VP Robin Abrams told the publication. But eventually, "that whole corridor will be more upscale, as fashion-oriented tenancies consider sites they never had before."

· 57th Street Retail on the Rise [TRD]
· Nordstrom Will Open on 57th Street Sometime Around 2018 [Racked NY]
· Why 57th Street Is the Supertall Tower Mecca of New York [Curbed NY]