The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-27
RETAIL DEALERS PAY IMMENSE SUMS FOR LITTLE
STORES LOCATED AT CORNERS OF HEAVY TRAFFIC
Yearly Rentals Up to $4,000 for Few
Square Feet at Most Desirable Cen
tres Some Expensive Sites.

pfoiitS. and not long ii,u another Of
them offered to pay $lO.UUU "a ycur more
than tho next highest offer for "A well
located store just because of the adver-
Using the prominent location would
give him.
These retail dealers as n rule figure
that they can pay a top rent ~ s
per cent. ~ their gross incomes. bat a
few are known who pay as high as Is
per cent. In leasing extensive
stores the dealer generally figures a
gross profit OF Is per cent. against
which he charges s per cent for rent.
10 per cent. for clerks, overhead and
the like. leaving net profit Of about
: per cent. one OF them said a few
days ago. however. mistakes in store
rentals and amounts spent in high
rents for stores for advertising
purposes make the last figure look
pretty small sometimes. They all
say that they never again viii
pay such high rents as they have con-
trncted to pay. but II IL to be noted that
when n new centre is found and nne
corner store is available, though tho
rent establishes n new record, some ono
is found to pay It.
From the available records IL would
seem that the little store 10 by IL feet
ut Fifth avenue and Forty-second street
occupied by schultz Is the second high
est priced according 10 square foot
values In the city. The price Is $500
n year. which figures down to almost an
even $50 a square foot. Figured AZ
per cent. of the gross income Il
means that the store must take in more
than sl06.000 a year. or an average OF
almost 5000 a day. sundays included. in
space that IS crowded when four
people are in II. Schultz has another
store II by &c feet at the corner OF
Cortlardt and Chruch streets Tor which
he pays $4,000 year. or an average Of
$40 square foot. Figured at the
per cent. rate he must take in S22S 600
year. or more than $500 a day.
The store in the McAlpin Hotel used
by ,he Ii2gett Drug Company brings
in $4,000 n year. II 70 big price {"
pay for a store hu. Il Is by no means
the highest price for a large store in
this city. Stanley Is. Green 90 Nelson
Lee & Green. an expert on store waltz
atoms and Edward Agrimon;e are ~
the opinion that tho little fruit store ~
3 Ionr street. q space 1oNlo ri the
head OF the John stree, subway en-
trance. brings more per square foot than
any store al lis hind al The v.;T. Eo"
the 100 square feet $4,000 year IS paid.
which is at the rate of $40 = square
foot. The LigEctt store with the ha.e-
ment figures about SEQ n square foot.
\ few years ago some biz rentals
were paid for stores on the north side
~ Thirty fourth street between Broad
, way and Fifth avenue. Candy dealers
are paying the highest r-nt on ~"
block. SchTafft. tle contectoncr. FOR
the II foot store at II West Thirty
fourth street is paying the fancy pr!C"
! Of SCI 900 . year, wiJ!ch is S..S5 iron.
I foot.
I Fifth avenue stores are not tho most
: costly in the city. IL other sec on.
higher store rents are being paid Than
! on tho leading shop Stree; ~ tho
city These latter stores. however. have
special advantages. such as being close
/ 20 The entrance of a subway 5 IT,
} little place in John street. or at a spot
[ in the path OF traffic leading 10 an i'm
| portant building, a. railroad terminal
/ Nevertheless Il requires LOT of money
( to start in business on Fifth avenue, as
| the rent paid even for the sIna'es,
! store is "A fortune 10 the average person.
! Twenty-Five dollars a squsre foot has
been paid for stores on Fifth avorue
between Thirty-fourth and Forty-sec-
| ond street. That was during the boom
when shopkeepers ard rea, estate oper-
ators were IN a frenzy over Fifth ave-
nue.. Since then values there have
! toned down and stores may 10 had
| for prices that are even less tEln in
! other active business certr"s.
The Colonial tea room WHICH took
the old Vanderbilt house at $40 Fifth
! avenue last May will pay between s29,-
! 900 and $4,000 for the building. which
I is slX stories high. On the block 10 the
/ north the Mary Elizabeth. another tea
/ room, contracted last year TO pay $50
! 600 . year for tho store and basement
| in the building at the northwast corner
OF Fifth avenue and Thirty sixth street
| for twenty-one years. There are 5000
| square feet IN the space hased, which
means that this tea room IS valued
at a little more than So square foot
probably the most costly tea room In
! the country.