Retail Developers Can No Longer Be Passive Rent Collectors

ULI panel at Eataly from left: Steven Cornwell, Marcel Van Ooyen, Beth Lieberman and Adam Saper

NEW YORK CITY—In emphasizing that real estate is not always about dollars per square foot, Marcel Van Ooyen, president and CEO of GrowNYC, said farmers at the Union Square Greenmarket are charged little or nothing to sell their produce. But before the market had moved in, the area was called “Needle Park” due to all the drug use. The scene also included a biker bar across the street and frequent public fighting, according to Van Ooyen.

“We built that neighborhood up” he said, noting the Danny Meyer’s restaurant and Whole Foods later followed the greenmarket to Union Square. “If you’re in real estate, you have to realize a fabulous asset doesn’t mean just how much money it brings. It means how much life you can bring to that location.”

On Tuesday night, at the downtown Eataly, located at 4 World Trade Center, Van Ooyen, joined Adam Saper, managing partner, Eataly, USA, Beth Lieberman, director of operations, the Market Line at Essex Crossing, and Steven Cornwell, chief marketing officer, the Howard Hughes Corporation, on a panel organized by the Urban Land Institute New York. Addressing the influence of food trends on real estate, the speakers unanimously agreed that today’s market requires a new way of developers working with tenants.

Saper said the downturn in the real estate market helped the company open Eataly, USA on 23rd Street in 2010. At one time, food tenants were not the premier choice for New York real estate leases.