Fulton Market is set to get its second major national retail store next year.
Anthropologie is headed to 1000 W. Randolph St., a spokeswoman said Wednesday. It will be Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters’ second move into the neighborhood. Free People — another of the company’s apparel brands — is expected to open a store and wholesale showroom in February 2017 a block away at 1101 W. Randolph St..
“Anthropologie and Free People are often pioneers in markets, and with the clients I work with, it piques their interest. It’s a great indicator more soft goods will be coming to the West Loop,” said Adam Cody, vice president at real estate firm JLL.
Anthropologie signed a 10-year lease on the 11,259-square-foot space, Mid-America Real Estate Corp. said Wednesday. Two Mid-America brokers, Andrew Becker and Paul Bryant, represented building owner Sterling Bay.
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the deal.
In Fulton Market, an area often likened to New York’s Meatpacking District, food wholesalers have made way for hot restaurants and, more recently, office and apartment developments.
McDonald’s announced plans last month to move its global headquarters and about 2,000 employees from its Oak Brook location to the former site of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. Google and Uber are among other major companies with offices in the area.
Luxury apparel company Billy Reid and Canadian casual-wear brand Kit and Ace were some of the first retailers to arrive last year, but national players were notably absent until Free People’s announcement in May.
That’s not unusual, said Sharon Kahan, first vice president at real estate firm CBRE, who represented property owner Madison Realty Management in the Free People deal. Retailers wait for residential, office and hotel development to build up a population of daytime customers before committing to an area.
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Fulton Market is at the “toddler stage” of its development, she said. “We’ve still got room to grow, but there’s a lot of good infrastructure and a lot more to come. Some of the more significant projects that will bring traffic haven’t even happened yet.”
Fulton Market has 3 million square feet of office space in development, more than 2,700 apartment units in publicly announced developments and hotels with 560 rooms, according to Shapack Partners, a large property owner in the neighborhood that in 2014 developed private club Soho House Chicago near Randolph and Green streets.
But the rents developers are asking reflect that potential. Cody said some retailers note the lack of existing big-name brands and are hesitant to be “pioneers” at those prices.
He estimated net asking rents for prime ground floor retail space at around $70 per square foot, similar to what retailers might expect in more established shopping corridors. CBRE has put the figure even higher, with retail rental asking prices hitting $90 per square foot last year, up from $30 in 2013.
“That’s their hesitancy. Yes, it’s exciting, but if they’re going to be here this early, some expect to get a break on rent for the risk they’re taking,” Cody said.
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