Vornado Realty Trust is turning a short but crucial stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets into a tighter, more deliberate shopping corridor as part of its long-running Penn District overhaul. The push comes on the heels of a string of retail wins around Herald Square and aims to stitch a cleaner row of storefronts into one of the city’s heaviest-traveled corners. Earlier this month, Primark debuted a large Herald Square flagship, a reminder that big-format retailers are once again circling the neighborhood.
For this next chapter, Vornado has tapped Newmark as its exclusive leasing agent and says the buildout will connect storefronts on both sides of Seventh Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets, Glen Weiss said in a company statement. "We have methodically remade THE PENN DISTRICT as a 24/7 neighborhood for every occasion and every taste," Weiss said. According to Vornado Realty Trust, the initiative sits at the heart of a multi‑billion dollar remake of the district.
Industry reporting says the short block will add roughly 100,000 square feet of new storefronts, space that could be carved into three to five larger tenants, after Vornado cleared several smaller buildings for the new retail. The finish line for the project is currently pitched for late 2027, per Yahoo Finance Canada, which reported that the company has already demolished multiple structures on the east side of Seventh Avenue between 34th and 33rd Streets.
Primark, Foot Traffic and the Retail Pitch
ConnectCRE reported that Primark opened a four‑level, roughly 54,000‑square‑foot Herald Square flagship earlier this month, a sizable bet on Midtown’s shopping mojo. According to Vornado Realty Trust, the firm has already rolled out more than 1.1 million square feet of new retail in the Penn District, along with more than 70 curated food‑and‑beverage operators as part of the broader transformation.
Why the Block Matters
The Seventh Avenue stretch sits on top of one of the region’s busiest transit hubs. The Penn Station complex handles roughly 650,000 passengers on an average weekday, according to New York State planning documents, which gives ground‑floor space here a built‑in audience of commuters and visitors.
The MTA puts the anticipated completion date for Metro‑North’s Penn Station Access, a project that will route Metro‑North service into the Penn District, at 2027, a timing that brokers say could add even more demand for street‑level retail. See Empire State Development and the MTA for details.
What’s Next for the Block
Vornado has held onto an 80,000‑square‑foot parcel where the Hotel Pennsylvania once stood and has floated a range of potential uses there, from an office tower to temporary event space, as it tests the market for a long‑term build. The company’s interim ideas and options at the Hotel Pennsylvania site have been laid out in reporting by The Real Deal.
How quickly Newmark can line up national tenants will determine whether the corridor leans into a handful of anchors or a mix of smaller retailers. Leasing will be the real test of demand: if deals come together at a steady clip, shoppers and commuters could be walking past fully built‑out storefronts by late 2027. Until then, expect a slow but regular stream of leasing announcements as Newmark works the phones and Vornado tweaks its Penn District playbook.
