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The historic Villard Mansion on Madison Avenue has 16-foot ceilings, small rooms, an elegant interior staircase and a courtyard entrance. But few of those characteristics make it easy for a retailer to sell goods, which helps explain why the 131-year-old landmarked property sat empty for three years.
Then a year ago, Trunk Club came along, and the very traits that made Villard Mansion a hassle to rent out became assets. The Chicago-based online seller of menswear found the 26,200-square-foot retail space near East 51st Street to be exactly what it needed to make a noteworthy debut in New York.
"These guys transitioning from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar are succeeding because they think differently," said Matthew Seigel, executive vice president at real estate brokerage Thor Retail Advisors, who represented Trunk Club in the deal. "Their willingness to work with what a traditional retailer might find more challenging can be a strength for them."
Cookie-cutter is out; historic is in. The city's landmarked sites, which increasingly stand out in an ever-vertical glass and steel landscape, are seeing an uptick in interest from retailers looking to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace.
Apple, in Grand Central Terminal and in a landmarked building in SoHo, may be the biggest example of a retailer that seeks historic spaces to show its wares. But popular e-commerce brands like Trunk Club and Warby Parker are following, choosing to overlook the challenges and extra costs associated with leasing landmarked buildings in order to open a store that doesn't look like the one next door. It's a hefty gamble, though. Renting a...