NEW YORK CITY—Strong consumer demand and a tourism boom in NewYork City led to rising retail rents along Manhattan's majorshopping corridors this Spring, according to the Real Estate Boardof New York's Spring retail report.

The area with the biggest surge was Fifth Avenue between 49thand 59th streets, which had the highest average ground floor askingrent among all primary shopping corridors citywide, setting arecord at $3,550 per square foot, with rents increasing 16%compared to last year. The Times Square retail corridor alsoreached a new high with average ground floor asking rents climbing11% over last year to $2,407 per square foot.

Other primary shopping corridors with significant ground floorasking rent increases this spring include Madison avenue between57^th and 72^nd streets, where asking rentsjumped 24% to $1,643 per square foot after a period of storerepositioning in that corridor; Herald Square along West 34thstreet, where rents increased 22% from last year to $883 per squarefoot and Broadway in SoHo between Houston and Broome streets, withaverage asking rents increasing 19% to $890 per squarefoot.