BOMA New York: Experience & retail are redefining what buildings must deliver

This summer, New York City will welcome the world. With the FIFA World Cup bringing visitors from across the globe, the city will once again demonstrate something that when New York is at its best, it doesn’t just attract people; it creates experiences that keep them coming back.

That’s a lesson worth paying attention to well beyond the final whistle.

The retail landscape is in the middle of a fundamental transformation, and the World Cup provides a vivid illustration of where it’s headed. Visitors traveling thousands of miles to New York aren’t coming solely to watch matches. They’re coming to experience our incredible city. They want to explore neighborhoods, discover local culture, eat well, shop intentionally, and engage with the places they visit in meaningful ways. The properties and retailers that understand this will capture an enormous amount of spending and loyalty. Those still operating with a purely transactional mindset may find themselves missing valuable opportunities.  

This shift from shopping as transaction to shopping as experience isn’t a trend driven by one event or one season. It’s a structural change in how people relate to physical retail spaces, and it has significant implications for how we think about the assets we manage and operate. BOMA New York’s Business & Marketing Strategy Committee, co-chaired by Keri Kushner of The Durst Organization and Glenn Waldorf of Bell Environmental Services, has been examining exactly this dynamic, looking at how the integration of retail strategy, tourism, and asset management creates new opportunities for commercial properties to drive value.

The committee’s work reflects the broader truth that the most successful properties today aren’t thinking about retail as just another revenue stream, but as an important part of the overall experience they provide for tenants and visitors. Retail that complements office tenants’ needs, activates ground-floor space, and creates energy in a building’s public areas contributes to the asset in ways that go far beyond rent per s/f. It affects how tenants feel about their building, whether employees want to come to the office, and how the property is perceived by prospective tenants evaluating their next location.

New York’s position as a global destination amplifies all of this. The World Cup will draw visitors who may never have set foot in the city before, exposing them to neighborhoods, buildings, and retail experiences they’ll carry home with them. For properties that have invested in creating genuine destinations, spaces where service, hospitality, and experience come together in ways that reflect the energy and distinct character of New York, this is an enormous opportunity. Buildings with ground-floor retail that offer something compelling, lobbies that invite rather than intimidate, and public spaces that feel like part of the city’s fabric will benefit in ways that extend far beyond the tournament itself.

What the Business & Marketing Strategy Committee is focused on is helping members understand and act on these dynamics with real strategic intent. Staying current on market trends both locally and globally isn’t just about staying informed; it helps owners and managers make better decisions for assets and careers. The retail and hospitality shifts happening right now are creating competitive advantages for properties that move thoughtfully and create vulnerabilities for those that don’t adapt.

In today’s market, service remains the differentiator, and experiences people have within our buildings are what creates lasting loyalty. And loyalty from tenants, from retail partners, and from the people who work in and visit our buildings every day is ultimately what drives long-term asset performance. The World Cup will come and go this summer, but the shift it represents in how New York competes as a global destination is permanent. The city has always drawn people from around the world. What’s changing is the sophistication with which our industry can respond to that opportunity and capture its value.

For BOMA New York members thinking about the future positioning of their properties, one question is worth sitting with: are your assets built to deliver the kind of experience that today’s tenants and visitors are looking for? Not just physically, but operationally? The answer will matter more each year.

Sharon Hart, RPA, CPM, LEED AP, is chair of BOMA New York.