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After more than a year of wondering what Macy's would do with its Downtown Brooklyn flagship, we finally have answers. Crain's New York reports that the department store chain has sold the top five floors of its Fulton Street building to real estate developer Tishman Speyer for $170 million, for which $100 million will go toward renovations on the remaining floors, including the basement level, over the next three years. The deal also included the parking garage at 11 Hoyt Street, which Macy's had previously put up for sale.
Losing those top levels will cut down Macy's square footage from 378,000 across nine floors to 310,000 on five floors. But even though it's losing a lot of space, the Daily News says that top-to-bottom renovations will allow the department store to carry even more brands than it does now. Other upgrades include uncovering windows to allow for more natural light, new restrooms and escalators, and, according to our sister site, a ground-floor Starbucks.
"There were lots of bidders and lots of interest," Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren said to WWD, adding that a lot of the new merchandise coming in will be millennial-focused. "The neighborhood is going to be filled with new customers. Fulton Street is totally going to come alive."
"This is just a great thing for Brooklyn," Downtown Brooklyn Partnership president Tucker Reed told NYDN. "This site is at the epicenter of Downtown Brooklyn. It sort of anchors the neighborhood."
Expect renovations to being next spring and wrap up in the fall of 2018, adding to New York's department store shakeup that year with the Manhattan arrivals of Nordstromand Neiman Marcus. The Downtown Brooklyn flagship will remain open throughout construction