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Italian fashion house Prada on Wednesday announced it will pay $425 million to buy the Fifth Avenue building thats home to its flagship boutique — making it the latest luxury retailer to double-down on the worlds greatest shopping street.

The deal reflects the dramatic rise in the fortunes of retail real estate even as the office and residential markets struggle.

It also comes amid  forecasts that online shopping would doom brick-and-mortar stores.

The board believes that the propertys location offers high strategic value being characterized by increasing scarcity and long-term potential, Prada said in a statement.

The purchase of 724 Fifth, where Prada has leased five floors in the 12-story building since 1997, follows recent word that Japans Geshary coffee brand bought nearby 560 Fifth Ave.

Geshary is expected to launch a multi-floor display of the coffee-making process, similar to one it has in Tokyo, after current tenant Oakleys lease is up next year.

The worlds most expensive stretch of retailers will also see luxury watchmaker Rolex develop an entirely new headquarters tower at 665 Fifth at East 52nd Street.

Meanwhile, Japanese confectioner Minamoto purchased a former TGI Fridays building at 604 Fifth Ave., and LVMH has development plans for its Louis Vuitton site at Fifth and East 57th Street.

The commitment by international brands acknowledges and reinforces that the city and Fifth Avenue have continued to maintain their place as the No. 1 shopping destination and avenue in the world, Cushman & Wakefield superbroker Joanne Podell said.

Retail specialist Andrew Goldberg, a vice-chairman at CBRE, said the phenomenon of big brands buying real estate, which we saw a lot of in the 1980s and 90s, is coming back.

Goldberg, who worked on the deal that first brought Prada to 724 Fifth in the 1990s, noted with a chuckle, When retailers buy a building where theyre tenants, it means they have no intention of leaving.

Leasing is on fire as well on the avenues prime stretch north of East 48th Street. Swarovski is coming to a former Gap site at 680 Fifth and Marc Jacobs is in talks for 645 Fifth, where an Armani A/X lease expires in 2024.

Last month, Cushman & Wakefield reaffirmed its No. 1 global ranking for Fifth Avenue as the worlds most expensive retail destination in real estate terms, with rents of $2,000 per square foot.

The Fifth Avenue phenomenon is matched on Madison Avenue north of East 57th Street, where Valentino took over the huge former Calvin Klein store and Giorgio Armani will soon open e a spectacular new flagship boutique.

New leases for Van Cleef & Arpels, Dolce & Gabbana, Peter Millar and others have left few available spaces, according to Garrick-Augs Joseph Aquino.The trend is also mirrored in Soho, where there are now nearly as many marquee brands as uptown. But some middle-market corridors, such as Midtown Third Avenue and Broadway on the Upper West Side, continue to struggle.

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Judge: First ejection of career ‘very surprising’

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Judge: First ejection of career 'very surprising'

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge has accomplished plenty during his nine-year major league career. The five-time All-Star set the American League record for home runs in a season in 2022. He won the AL MVP award. He was named the 16th captain in New York Yankees history.

And not once in his first 869 career games was the 32-year-old slugger ever ejected.

That streak, though, ended Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Judge was tossed for the first time leading off the seventh inning after arguing a called third strike in the Yankees’ eventual 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Judge was displeased when plate umpire Ryan Blakney punched him out on a pitch he thought was outside for ball four. The outfielder had some words for Blakney as he walked away before turning around to go to the Yankees’ dugout. Blakney then threw him out of the game.

“Very surprising, especially in a 5-3 game, late in the game,” Judge said. “Battling a 3-2 count and kind of walking away saying my piece. I’ve said a lot worse. … I usually try not to make a scene in situations like that. So a little surprised [that] walking away that happened.”

Judge said there wasn’t any tension between him and Blakney leading up to that point. He ended his day 2-for-3 with a double. It was just his second multihit game since April 14, raising his batting average on the season to .209. Trent Grisham replaced him in center field.

“I got a lot of respect for Ryan and what he does,” Judge said. “I know their job is tough and I’ve always had their back because it’s tough back there. So, for it to happen that way, that’s what I’m most upset about. Especially late in a game like that, close game.”

Umpire crew chief Alan Porter told a pool reporter that Blakney hadn’t yet told him what Judge said to warrant the ejection.

“Apparently, Aaron did not agree with the pitch and said something that you shouldn’t have said, and he was ejected,” Porter said. “We do what we can to keep guys in the game, but he said something he shouldn’t have said.”

Judge said he had never been ejected at any level in his baseball life — from little league through high school, college and the pros. It was the first time a Yankees captain was ejected from a game since Don Mattingly in May 1994.

“I didn’t even see myself get tossed,” Judge said. “It was a crowd reaction I heard, so I kind of assumed at that point.”

Though surprising to the Yankees, Judge’s ejection isn’t the team’s most controversial this season. Manager Aaron Boone was tossed five pitches into a game on April 23 for words that appeared to have come from a fan behind the dugout.

On Saturday, Boone, whose 35 ejections since 2018 are the most among managers, defended his star.

“I was surprised,” Boone said. “Judgy says very little usually. Very respectfully, walking away. Come on, man.”

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Arraez a big hit in Padres debut, goes 4-for-6

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Arraez a big hit in Padres debut, goes 4-for-6

PHOENIX — Luis Arraez had four hits and an RBI in his first game after being traded from the Miami Marlins, Ha-Seong Kim hit a three-run homer in San Diego’s eight-run seventh inning and the Padres routed the listless Arizona Diamondbacks 13-1 on Saturday.

The Padres made a massive deal Friday, acquiring Arraez from the Marlins along with nearly $7.9 million in a trade for four players. The two-time batting champion didn’t join his new team until about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, but he wasted no time in producing, going 4-for-6 while scoring two runs.

“Clearly an amazing approach, and I can see why he is the rightful moniker of ‘The Sprinkler,'” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “You’re talking about he’s an artist being able to put the ball in the whole field. That was that was a sight to behold. What a talent.”

Arraez wasn’t the only San Diego player seeing the ball well at Chase Field.

Jurickson Profar had a two-run homer in the seventh inning among his four hits, and Kim followed with a three-run shot. Manny Machado had three RBIs. And Michael King (3-3) allowed six singles in six innings for San Diego’s season-high fourth straight victory. The Padres had 18 hits.

“I absolutely love him,” King said about Arraez. “He’s a spark plug who’s a really tough out and just finds the bases. It’s going to be really fun to see him with the guys we have behind him.”

The Diamondbacks would love to put this week behind them.

Arizona had two runners picked off at first in the first inning and didn’t get a runner past second base until Gabriel Moreno‘s two-out, run-scoring single in the ninth. The reigning National League champion Diamondbacks have been outscored 28-2 since a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday and have lost seven of nine.

“It’s obvious right now we’re grinding, things are not going well and we just aren’t getting the job done,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “You go to work and you have a bad week at work — it happens. But we’ve got to find a way to shorten up that gap when we’re not playing good baseball to find a way to win a game.”

Arraez led off his first game with the Padres by hitting the second pitch by Brandon Pfaadt (1-2) into the corner in right for a double. He scored on Machado’s single for San Diego’s 32nd run in the first inning this season, second most in the majors to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ 37.

“He got us going and kept us going,” Shildt said.

The Diamondbacks got off to a much shakier start.

Arizona had two singles in the first inning, but Jake McCarthy got picked off by King, and Ketel Marte was thrown out by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. after rounding first too far.

Fielding caused the Diamondbacks problems in the fourth inning.

Shortstop Blaze Alexander had an error on a potential double-play ball then threw late to the plate when Profar took off from third on Luis Campusano‘s grounder. Arraez’s single to left put San Diego up 3-0.

The Padres chased Pfaadt in the seventh inning and blew the game open against Arizona’s bullpen, sending 14 batters to plate. Pfaadt allowed five runs on 10 hits in six innings.

“We’re a team trying to get back on its high horse, and certainly it didn’t work out today,” Pfaadt said. “Certainly, we’ll try to look forward to tomorrow and try to get back on the horse.”

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Phils SS Turner (hamstring) set to miss 6 weeks

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Phils SS Turner (hamstring) set to miss 6 weeks

PHILADELPHIA — Trea Turner will miss at least six weeks with a left hamstring strain after being injured in the fourth inning of Philadelphia‘s 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday.

The Phillies placed the two-time All-Star shortstop on the 10-day injured list Saturday, but Turner said he’ll need more time.

“I hate being hurt,” he said.

Turner has started all 30 games this season, helping the Phillies (22-11) enter Saturday with the most wins in baseball. He is hitting .343 with two homers, 10 doubles, nine RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson, before knowing the extent of the absence, said losing Turner for any amount of time would be a blow.

“It’s a huge loss,” he said. “It’s Trea Turner, one of the best players in baseball.”

Turner had two hits in Friday’s game, when he helped the Phillies to their 14th win in the last 17 games.

He was injured on a stellar hustle play. He singled, stole second and scored from there on a passed ball on a walk to Bryce Harper. Philadelphia’s speedy shortstop just beat the tag by right-hander Jordan Hicks, and plate umpire Brian Walsh’s safe call was confirmed by video review.

“It was a great play,” Thomson said. “Won us a ballgame.”

Turner injured his left hamstring running the bases between third and home.

The Phillies recalled Kody Clemens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Turner’s roster spot.

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