NY’s newest mall lands big makeup chain

A national beauty retailer recently took 11,400 square feet at The Mall at Bay Plaza in the Bronx, the shopping center currently under construction at the intersection of the Hutchinson River Parkway and I-95.

Ulta Beauty, which boasts about 550 stores across the country, signed a 10-year lease, and hopes to open its doors later this year.

"(The company) will be a tremendous addition to The Mall at Bay Plaza, with its roster of major national tenants," said Jayson Siano of Sabre Real Estate Group, which represented Ulta in the transaction along with colleague Doug Bomzer.

The cosmetics seller will be just the latest national brand to land at the mall. Macy's, Victoria's Secret and H&M have already signed up, and some retailers signed on years ago. Macy's took 160,000 square feet in 2011, for example.

Asking rents vary widely, ranging from $100 per square foot to $200 per square foot, according to the developer. The mall is slated to be completed late this summer, and will be anchored by both the Macy's and a 150,000-square-foot J.C. Penney.

The massive influx of retail space is sorely needed in the area, according to Welco Realty Principal Jerry Welkis, who said in January that the surrounding neighborhoods are underserved yet highly populated.

Mr. Welkis represented the landlord in the Ulta transaction, and noted the mall will eventually complement the adjacent 1.3 million-square-foot Bay Plaza Shopping Center.

The mall's developer, Prestige Properties & Development, bills it as the first mall to be built in New York City in 40 years, and is dropping about $270 million on development, according to previous reports.

Correction: Asking rents at the Mall at Bay Plaza in the Bronx vary between roughly $100 and $200 per square foot. The range was misstated in an earlier version of this article, published April 1, 2014.