Vornado Realty Trust has tapped Newmark as the exclusive leasing agent for its Penn District retail portfolio surrounding Penn Station, the busiest U.S. transit hub.
The leasing assignment comes as Vornado is redeveloping the retail stretch along both sides of Seventh Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets to complement the shopping corridor’s existing anchors, Macy’s Herald Square flagship and Primark’s 78,000 square-foot flagship at Vornado-owned 150 W. 34th St. set to open this spring, Vornado said in a statement on Monday. The assignment also includes retail leasing at the Moynihan Train Hall, Vornado said.
A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate to CoStar News beyond what Vornado said in the statement.
The retail overhaul is a key part of Vornado’s $2.5 billion redevelopment of the Penn District complex that has led to the redevelopment of more than 5 million square feet of Class A office space. That includes the Penn 1 and Penn 2 towers and the Farley Building above the Moynihan Train Hall; the addition of more than 300,000 square feet of public plazas; and 1.1 million square feet of new retail space added in the Penn District.
These properties have attracted a who’s who list of tenants including Facebook during the pandemic; and more recently Verizon and Universal Music Group.
In fact, Penn 1 and Penn 2, both of which have direct access to Penn Station, last year “emerged as the most active buildings by transaction count, combining for 25 top-tier deals,” resulting in Vornado ranking as the top landlord in leasing based on the overall quantity of top-dollar space in 2025, a JLL study found.
“Through our redevelopment of the Penn District, we have thoughtfully curated a diverse blend of local and nationally owned restaurants, cafes and shops that offer something for all workers, residents, commuters and visitors who experience the neighborhood on a daily basis,” Vornado Executive Vice President and co-head of real estate Glen Weiss said in the statement. “We have methodically remade the Penn District as a 24/7 neighborhood for every occasion and every taste.”
Attracting upscale restaurants
Penn District, including its redeveloped Long Island Rail Road concourse, now counts some 70 new food and beverage purveyors including upscale restaurants The Dynamo Room, Blue Ribbon Sushi & Steak and Avra Estiatorio as well as popular fast casual chains such as Shake Shack and Raising Cane’s.
“With Madison Square Garden as the world’s premier venue, Penn Station as the western hemisphere’s busiest transit hub, and 34th Street and Seventh Avenue among the most active intersections in North America, the opportunity to help shape the future of The Penn District is a remarkable honor,” Newmark’s Chairman of Global Retail Mark Masinter said in the statement regarding the firm's selection as the leasing agent.
Vornado Chief Executive Steven Roth in November described the Seventh Avenue block between 33rd and 34th as “the entire old … junky retail” that Vornado “inherited” from prior ownership, adding the block “is the gateway to our Penn District, and a transformation … will have a big impact.”
He said at the time Vornado was in the process of canceling those leases to redevelop all of that space into “modern, exciting, sought-after retail" offerings.
The 34th Street and Seventh Avenue corner has been historically the second or third most -active subway station in New York, he said, adding that 34th Street, not that many years ago, was the second best shopping street in the city.
“It has deteriorated over time,” he said, adding Vornado plans to “bring it back.”
Herald Square-34th Street area has trailed many other Manhattan retail markets in rebound from the pandemic. It had a 34% availability rate in the fourth quarter, more than double the Manhattan average of 12.1%, which was the lowest level since 2014, according to a Cushman & Wakefield study.
Still, there are some signs the corridor is also seeing some improvement. Popular retailer TJ Maxx signed a lease spanning 40,000 square feet, its first new deal in more than a decade in New York, at Herald Towers at 50 W. 34th St., landlord JEMB Realty said recently. Gap’s discount fashion chain Old Navy also is relocating there.
For the record
The retail leasing team will be led by Masinter, who will work closely with Newmark’s Retail Vice Chairman Karen Bellantoni, Jackie Totolo Pierce Thompson and Nick Masinter.