Some studies have put the current rate for retail vacancies in the city at about 20 percent, and they attribute that to a sharp rise in rents that has become too prohibitive for many retailers. Notwithstanding that, Brookfield Properties is busy refilling some of the empty retail space on Bleecker Street, in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, through a new generation of tenants that combine retail with art, music and similar cultural elements.

This year Brookfield Properties acquired some 24,000 square feet of street-level shops between West 10th and West 11th streets. The firm jumped at the chance to acquire some irreplaceable real estate at a really attractive price, says Michael Goldban, Brookfield’s head of retail leasing. “This section of Bleecker Street is the quintessential West Village urban experience,” Goldban said.

Bleecker Street boasts a history rich in live music and culture, through venues that have for decades presented some of the greats in folk, jazz, blues and rock music, as well as standup comedy. More recently, the tree-lined street had become a luxury shopping destination known for the presence of such international brands as Burberry, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren. But the area began suffering as rents skyrocketed while online competition got progressively tougher, resulting in a wave of store closings.

Brookfield has stepped into this void in a bid to revitalize the area, teaming up with Skylight Studios, a New York City–based strategic consultant and developer of events spaces, to achieve that vision. “With [Skylight’s] help, we have curated this really dynamic, exciting collection of brands — some old and some new — that are really authentic to the meaning of Bleecker Street and the West Village,” said Goldban. And these new retail concepts are emblematic of where Brookfield thinks retail needs to go to stay relevant in the future, he says.

These Brookfield-owned storefronts are now fully leased to five tenants. The first of these was Margaux, an e-commerce retailer specializing in women’s footwear, which opened in July. Three others opened in mid-September: Bonberi & Fleurotica, which combines Fleurotica’s floral design workshop and sales space with the plant-based nutrition and holistic lifestyle offerings curated by Bonberi (a concept from blogger Nicole Berrie); Prabal Gurung, an internationally recognized couture designer from Nepal who has created a lounge space for women’s fashions; and Slightly Alabama, which designs and produces handmade leather accessories. Not only does Slightly Alabama founder Dana Glaeser make leather products in this space, but he also uses it to bring in musicians and speakers for public discussions about music. “It’s a really special retail experience,” said Goldban. “It’s not just a place to go buy a wallet, it’s a place to be immersed in the ‘maker’ value of retail.”

Prospective tenants are finding a great opportunity to be on a well-heeled street at lower rents and with new exposure as the experience of shopping in this neighborhood has gone back to its roots, says Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail leasing, marketing and sales division of New York City–based Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “The next generation of shoppers are more discerning about what they buy, where it comes from, what is used to make [the products] and who is making them,” said Consolo. “And Brookfield knows this.”

Indeed, Brookfield is expecting to take some of the lessons learned on Bleecker Street and apply them elsewhere, according to Goldban. “There is a cultural component to the experience of shopping,” he said. “To bring art and programming and music into a retail environment is essential to the success of mixed-use environments, and not just in urban settings, but in suburban settings too. You are going to be seeing a lot more of this, and, certainly, it will be a focus within our Brookfield portfolio.”