SoHo has 95 empty stores, is the end nigh?

SoHo, the bustling shopping district of downtown Manhattan, could be on the verge of a crisis, according to a new report from The Real Deal that found the neighborhood currently has 95 vacant retail locations available for rent.

Racked puts it in more dramatic terms, reporting that SoHo currently has about 500,000 square feet of empty retail space.

Why?

“Money, money, money,” Racked emphatically writes. “The average yearly rent per square foot is now $535, but that number can vary widely depending on the block. The real estate publication uses 489 Broadway, which currently houses Ricky’s most-Instagrammed beauty products, as a prime example — that space on the corner of Broome Street runs for $1,700 per square foot.”

But this is all, according to some real estate experts, just a part of a grander cycle.

“At some point in every cycle, the tide turns,” an unnamed vice president of the investment firm Aurora Capital told Racked. “Rents rise to uncomfortable levels for retailers, the pace of retail sales slows, retail leasing velocity comes to a halt.”

So will there be a drop in retail space rents any time soon?

Probably not, as larger and more prominent brands are willing to pay premium dollar for those alluring New York City addresses.

Matt Lee is a Web producer for Metro New York. He writes about almost everything and anything. Talk to him (or yell at him) on Twitter so he doesn’t feel lonely@mattlee2669.