Lower Rents Lure Galleries Back to W. B’way

Miami-based photo gallery to take space left behind by high-end shoe store.

Galleries are making a comeback along West Broadway in SoHo. Miami-based Art Photo Expo Gallery recently signed a two-year lease for 7,900 square feet at 382 West Broadway. The deal includes 3,500 square feet on the ground floor, 3,500 square feet in the basement and a 1,000-square-foot mezzanine. The asking rent for the ground floor was $180 a foot.

Two-year-old Art Photo sells limited edition photography and will replace shoe retailer Te Casan, which went out of business last fall. Many other retailers have closed up shop on the corridor. As a result, brokers estimate that rents there have fallen as much as 40% from their 2007 peaks. The lowered prices are paving the way for the return of art galleries.

“Historically, West Broadway was known for its galleries, but when rents started going up and bigger retailers started moving in, the galleries got priced out,” said DANIEL ALESANDRO, the Sinvin Realty broker who, along with colleague LASIA CASIL, represented Art Photo and landlord 382 West Broadway in negotiations. “But now rents have gone down so much that the galleries are able to come back again,” he noted.

Art Expo should open for business by the end of the month.