Hewlett and Woodmere retail space fills slowly

Landlords take cautious approach to renting

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With 28 vacant retail properties in Hewlett and Woodmere, the single new business that has opened and the five that are planning to have yet to make a dent in the vacant commercial space in the two communities.
Ian Leigh, a manager and commercial property specialist for Pugatch Realty Corp. in Woodmere, said that storefronts remain vacant because of the deliberateness of property owners, who want to make sure they rent their storefronts to reliable businesses.
“Some landlords are more discriminating than others,” Leigh said. “They want only established businesses with strong credit. They will wait many months or more until they get a customer they feel is worthy.”
He added that some landlords are more accommodating, and will take a chance with a new business, asking for a “more than usual” security deposit, which is typically two months’ rent. “If someone has very poor credit, it’s no different than if you were going to lease a car,” he said. “There is risk, so to offset the risk you’d pay more, three to four months.”
In leasing a space, many factors are considered, Leigh said. “If a site has outstanding parking, the store would command about $30 to $35 per square foot,” he said. “For example, a typical 1,500-square-foot store would command, say, $30 times 1,500, to equal $45,000 per year, or $3,750 per month. Conversely, a store with limited or no available parking would command $20 to $25 per square foot, so 1,500 square feet times $20 would equal $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month.”

Most categories of businesses looking to lease, Leigh said, are fitness-related. “Gyms, fitness and training, anything in the exercise or health category are looking,” he said. “Food uses are always looking. Banks are looking, too, but now that’s saturated.” The six new businesses in Hewlett and Woodmere include a fine jewelry store, First National Bank of Long Island and the national pet supply chain Petco.
Some business owners whose shops are next to vacant properties in Hewlett and Woodmere say they don’t believe the empty space affects their bottom line. Dr. Edward Fruitman, a psychiatrist who also operates the Trifecta Medical Spa on Broadway, said that all of his clients are referrals who come to him for treatment for depression. An Atlantic Beach resident, Fruitman also has an office in Manhattan. He chose to open his Hewlett practice in 2010 — and the spa in 2012 — because he wanted to be closer to home, he said, and also needed space to accommodate the equipment used to treat patients.
‘We used the extra space downstairs for the machine so patients would be more comfortable in their treatment,” he said, referring to his transcranial magnetic machine. “Then, after the yoga studio moved out next door, I opened Trifecta in there.”
Dave Mehta, manager of the Kumon tutorial service, on Broadway in Hewlett, said he thinks that if the vacant storefronts were filled, it would generate more business for everyone. “For us, I’d like to see something related to children open up in the vacant space next to ours,” he said. “Anything that will bring in younger children and their families, such as a children’s clothing store, will make people want to stay longer and spend.”
Woodmere resident Abbi Himmelstein, the manager of Hewlett’s Broadway Pet Care, said she would like the vacant sites to be converted into more places to shop and eat. “I’ll tell you what we don’t need more of, and that’s doctors and nail salons,” she said. “Shopping encourages people to spend locally, and gives us more options to where we should do our business — right here in our own community. More restaurants and specialty shops, that’s what I’d like to see made available to us.”

Have an opinion about retail space in Hewlett and Woodmere? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.

New businesses in Hewlett and Woodmere

Name                             Address                                              Opening

Julia’s Place Jewelers        28 Franklin Ave., Hewlett                     2015

Broadway Remedies        1034 Broadway, Woodmere                   2015

27 Dressings                   1284 W. Broadway, Hewlett                  September

Relax Foot Spa                 1195 Broadway, Hewlett                      Open

First National Bank of L.I.  1301 Broadway, Hewlett                      2015

Petco                                1296 Broadway, Hewlett                     2015