New York City’s TurnStyle turns subway station into underground mall

Passengers entering the subway station at 59th Street in New York City’s Columbus Circle can now go through the turnstile to patronize TurnStyle, a marketplace with nearly 40 retail and food vendors, and the first private development inside a New York City subway hub.

Goldman Sachs has funded the 30,000-square-foot, $14.5 million project through its Urban Investment Group. This marks the first time the Metropolitan Transit Authority has turned over a retail space in the subway system to a private group to rent and manage, says Susan Fine, principal of OasesRe. Fine is the developer behind such high-profile subway shopping hubs as those in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center and specializes in transforming underutilized spaces.

TurnStyle, housed along a fully renovated, 325-foot-long passageway, features 12 boutiques, 20 eateries and a series of pop-up kiosks selling various types of goods. The space reflects the “careful creation of very cool stores,” Fine said. “We are not the same old retail mall stores. Our tenant mix includes young, fresh stores. Many of these are new businesses on their second or third shop, with great design; the owners are innovators.”

The hub also leads to the more traditional retailers at the Time Warner Center, which boasts such national tenants as H&M, Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma.

At what Fine calls a “modern main-street underground,” rents average $300 per square foot. “We provide food and retail options at various price points, and we like to think we have something to offer for all demographics, whether you are buying your mother a necklace from Saskia de Vries Designs, buying your boyfriend some cuff links from Spectre & Co. or bringing home a rotisserie chicken with healthy sides for your family from Ellary’s Greens.” 

The Columbus Circle subway stop draws some 90,000 commuters daily and is mere blocks from Central Park and Lincoln Center, making TurnStyle’s shopper base a mixture of tourists, office workers and local residents with a high median income of $180,000, Fine says.

Asked how her experience working on Grand Central’s retail passageway informed TurnStyle, Fine explains that variety, practicality and a dash of shopping theater are key takeaways. “Whether Bolivian food or grilled cheese, flowers or cards, people like choice,” she said. It is also important to “remember what people need, whether a present for their host that night, a box of chocolates, bottle of wine or a hat because it’s sunny outside.” The mix should also include the unexpected, Fine says. “Keep it fresh and electric,” she said. “Retail is an event. And make sure there is ‘new and novel’ each day.” Naturally, the idea is also to appeal to commuters on the go, she says. “You’re not going to buy a piece of furniture when you’re on your way to work.”

This emphasis on convenience and on enabling commuters to grab things as they go certainly appealed to cosmetics retailer Lush, according to Alyssa Gates, the chain’s director of U.S. real estate. “The sheer volume of people passing by this location will allow us to reach new customers every day and reach a variety of demographics,” Gates said.

TurnStyle is nearly all leased up now, though a few spaces for pop-up shops are still available. “We are looking for lively, energetic stores,” Fine said, “from women’s accessories — like handbags, clothing, jewelry — to eyewear … and new food concepts: from bagels — this is New York City! — to great meats, such as hot dogs and sausages.” — Barbara Thau