Hudson Yards Developer Finds Office Tenants for Neiman Marcus Store

(Bloomberg) -- Related Cos., the developer behind the Hudson Yards project, has found potential tenants for the former Manhattan home of Neiman Marcus, which is being converted into offices after the luxury retailer shuttered the store.

The widespread embrace of hybrid work has cast a cloud over the future of offices, which emptied again in recent weeks as the omircon variant swept New York.

Still, there's plenty of demand at Hudson Yards, particularly from firms that have space there and want to expand, Jeff Blau, Related's chief executive officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's David Westin on “Wall Street Week.”

The interest in the former Neiman store comes as more Manhattan companies plan to bring workers back this month, according to Blau.

“Companies are thinking forward beyond that full return to the office, and making the decision to take even more space,” he said. “We're feeling pretty optimistic about the office side.”

The luxury mall at Hudson Yards opened to much fanfare in March 2019. Just over a year later, Neiman announced it would permanently close the store, its first in Manhattan.

Other highlights from the Blau interview:

While Midtown still feels quiet, the offices at Hudson Yards have been as much as 40% full in recent weeks, Blau said.
Related is increasing its bets on “secondary” cities like Charlotte, Austin, Nashville and West Palm Beach that are growing at a faster rate than larger markets including New York or Los Angeles.
Many New York companies are opening secondary hubs in South Florida as a supplement to their Manhattan headquarters.