Retail space for lease in Chelsea

Chelsea combines gallery and showroom space in the West 20s with large converted industrial buildings that now house tech and media tenants. The High Line has turned its avenues into strong food and retail streets.

Spaces
0
Active requirements
1
Retail stock
1.9M SF
Transit
A C E at 14 St

Building figures are existing stock from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax lot records, not space on the market. More below.

1 tenant is looking for retail space in Chelsea: 1,800 to 1,800 SF, up to $43/SF. A space listed that fits is matched with it the day it goes up.

Looking now · 1

Who needs retail space in Chelsea now

Real requirements, newest first. List a space that fits one and we ask them for the intro when you post it. Names and contact details stay private on both sides until both say yes.

  1. A tenant rep (creative / arts / media) wants 1,800 SF of office or retail space in Chelsea, up to $43/SF.

    Posted 5 days ago · Seeking 1,800 SF Creative Loft in Chelsea, Manhattan

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Nothing listed here yet

New retail spaces in Chelsea are matched to requirements the day they are posted. Post yours and be first in line.

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Who is looking in Chelsea

Tenants and buyers with active requirements. Owners: list a space and we match you automatically.

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For owners and brokers

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Tenant alerts send a notification when a requirement that fits your neighborhood, types and sizes is posted, before you list anything. Real requirements only. Free during Broker Pro early access.

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NYC Department of Finance filings

Rent collected per square foot: retail buildings in Manhattan

In 2024, 1,328 Manhattan retail properties filed income statements with the city. Their median gross income was $64.71 per square foot, and the middle half collected between $38.35 and $104.91. The typical property's income was up 2.1% on 2023. The city publishes these figures by borough, not by neighborhood, so they cover Manhattan as a whole.

Gross income per square foot, 2024

  • Manhattan$64.71Middle half $38.35 to $104.91 · 1,328 filings · this page
  • Brooklyn$33.16Middle half $22.30 to $48.57 · 2,856 filings
  • Queens$36.08Middle half $24.11 to $54.28 · 3,243 filings
  • Bronx$33.65Middle half $22.85 to $48.55 · 1,487 filings
  • Staten Island$29.60Middle half $19.65 to $42.13 · 715 filings

Bar: the middle half of properties. Tick: the median.

Manhattan retail buildings

Median gross income
$64.71/SF
Middle half
$38.35 to $104.91
Typical change on 2023
+2.08%
Citywide median
$36.07/SF
Filings
1,328

Source: NYC Department of Finance, FY 2027 RPIE 2024 Income and Expense Distributions (FY 2027 assessment roll, published January 2026), page 16. Owners of income-producing properties file a Real Property Income and Expense statement each year; gross income is everything a property collected in 2024 per square foot, as filed, with outlier and partial-year filers left out. It includes vacant space, concessions and older leases, so it is not an asking rent.

NYC storefront registry

Storefronts in Chelsea

How many shopfronts the city's registry counts here and how many stood empty at the end of 2025: a quick read on how much choice a retail or restaurant tenant has.

Registered storefronts
442
Vacant on Dec 31, 2025
58
Vacancy rate
13.1%
NYC 9.2%
A year earlier
10.8%
more empty now

Streets with the most storefronts in Chelsea

  1. 5 vacant (6.3%)
  2. 10 vacant (13.7%)
  3. 11 vacant (20.4%)
  4. 8 vacant (19.5%)
  5. 5 vacant (19.2%)

Large buildings with a vacant storefront

Owners of 1 of the 8 large buildings we track in Chelsea with registered storefronts reported at least one vacant on December 31, 2025, 1 of them at 3 or more year ends in a row. Each links to the building's filings by year. Not listings: the registry records no size, rent or asking terms.

Large buildings in Chelsea whose owners reported a storefront vacant on December 31, 2025
BuildingVacant storefrontsReported vacant
249 West 17th Street1 of 4Every year end since 2020

Own or represent a vacant storefront in Chelsea? List it free and it is matched against every retail requirement the day it goes up.

NYC storefront vacancy report: every borough, neighborhood and street, by year

Source: NYC Department of Finance, Storefronts Reported Vacant or Not (Local Law 157), annual filings, pulled 2026-10-16. Owners of buildings with ground- or second-floor storefronts register each one every year with its status on December 31. Neighborhood figures count storefronts near the neighborhood's commercial core, the same area as the building figures on this page. A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.

NYC tax lot records

Retail buildings in Chelsea

What already stands here, from the city's own property data. Useful for sizing a search before a single space is listed.

Retail space
1.9M SF
Properties with retail space
351
All commercial space
8.2M SF
Built before 1940
76%

Largest retail buildings

  1. 8 floors · built 2017
  2. 521 West 21st Street35K SF
    2 floors · built 1931
  3. 533 West 22nd Street27K SF
    6 floors · built 1913
  4. 542 West 22nd Street25K SF
    5 floors · built 2017
  5. 202 Eleventh Avenue22K SF
    2 floors · built 1938
All 23 large commercial buildings in Chelsea

Age, height and zoning

  • Median year built: 1920.
  • Median height: 5 floors.
  • Most common zoning districts: C1-6A (82), C6-2A (69), R7B (53). 11% of these lots are zoned for manufacturing.
  • Historic districts: Chelsea Historic District (30 lots), Chelsea Historic District Extension (14 lots), West Chelsea Historic District (10 lots).
  • 6 lots are designated city landmarks.

Source: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO 26v2, pulled 2026-10-16. Counts cover tax lots with commercial floor area within about 0.4 mi of Chelsea's commercial core, and each lot counts toward one neighborhood only, so boundaries are approximate. Building figures are the city's floor-area estimates, not available space.

MTA station data

Subway stations in Chelsea

Every station within about 0.5 mi of Chelsea's commercial core, closest first. Stations joined by a free transfer count once.

Stations
5
Subway lines
5
Fully accessible
1 of 5
Closest
23 St, 4 min walk

The 5 stations

  • 23 St4 min walk · Not accessible
  • 23 St7 min walk · Not accessible
  • 14 St8 min walk · Accessible station · connects to 8 Av
  • 18 St8 min walk · Not accessible
  • 28 St9 min walk · Not accessible

Lines

The 1, A, C, E and L trains stop within about 0.5 mi of Chelsea's core.

Step-free access

  • 14 St (A C E) is fully accessible.

Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Subway Stations, pulled 2026-10-16. Walking times are straight-line estimates from the nearest point of Chelsea's commercial core (the same area as the building counts), so the street route is longer. Accessibility is the MTA's rating for the named station. PATH, LIRR, Metro-North and ferries are not in this data.

Before you sign

Plain-English guides to square footage, rent and lease terms in New York, and free calculators to run your own numbers.

All guides

Questions about retail space in Chelsea

Is there retail space for lease in Chelsea right now?

No retail space for lease in Chelsea is listed on Leasemark right now. 1 tenant is looking for retail space there. Post what you need and Leasemark matches you the day a space that fits is listed; your contact details stay private until you accept an intro. Owners and brokers can list a space here for free.

Get matched in Chelsea

How much does retail space cost in Chelsea?

Leasemark has no asking rents posted here yet, so here are the city's own numbers. Retail buildings in Manhattan collected a median $64.71 per square foot in 2024, and the middle half between $38.35 and $104.91, according to the income and expense statements owners file with the NYC Department of Finance (FY 2027 distributions, 1,328 filings). The city publishes these figures by borough, so this is Manhattan as a whole, not Chelsea alone. That is what buildings actually collected, with vacant space, concessions and leases signed years ago in the mix, so it is a baseline rather than a quote: a specific space's price depends on the building's class, floor, condition and the length of the lease.

Compare every borough

How do I find retail space in Chelsea that is not publicly listed?

Post a requirement on Leasemark. Owners and listing brokers see what you need (without your contact details) and can respond with spaces, including ones that are not on the market yet. You choose who gets an intro.

How much retail space is there in Chelsea?

New York City's PLUTO tax lot data (26v2) records about 1.9 million square feet of retail floor area across 351 properties in the part of Chelsea Leasemark covers. The largest by that measure is 534 West 25th Street, at about 47,000 square feet. That is the existing building stock, not space currently for lease.

How many storefronts are vacant in Chelsea?

Owners registered 442 ground- and second-floor storefronts in the part of Chelsea Leasemark covers for the end of 2025, and 58 of them (13.1%) stood vacant on December 31, 2025, against 9.2% citywide and 10.8% here a year earlier. The most storefronts are on Eighth Avenue (79) and West 23rd Street (73). A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.

Which large buildings in Chelsea have a vacant storefront?

Owners of 1 of the 8 large buildings Leasemark tracks in Chelsea with registered storefronts reported at least one vacant on December 31, 2025, 1 of them at 3 or more year ends in a row. It is 249 West 17th Street (1 of 4 storefronts). Each building's page shows its filings by year. A vacant storefront is not always on the market: some are being renovated, held empty or already leased to a tenant who has not moved in.

What subway lines serve Chelsea?

Five subway stations sit within about 0.5 mi of Chelsea's commercial core, served by the 1, A, C, E and L trains. The closest is 23 St (C E), roughly 4 minutes on foot; then 23 St (1), 14 St (A C E L), 18 St (1) and 28 St (1). Walking times are straight-line estimates from MTA station data.

Do tenants in Chelsea pay the NYC Commercial Rent Tax?

Yes, for larger leases. Chelsea is in Manhattan below 96th Street, where the city's Commercial Rent Tax applies. A tenant owes it only when base rent for the space is $250,000 a year or more. The tax is 6% of base rent after a 35% reduction, so 3.9% of rent, with a sliding credit between $250,000 and $300,000, and the Small Business Tax Credit wipes it out for businesses with total income of $5 million or less and base rent under $500,000.

Estimate it with the Commercial Rent Tax calculator

Is it free to post on Leasemark?

Yes. Posting a space or a requirement is free. Contact details are only shared when both sides accept an intro.