Stella McCartney Could Head to Madison Avenue as Monique Lhuillier Exits

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Stella McCartney might finally be catering to her uptown customers. After ditching the Meatpacking District for Soho back in 2011, the British designer is looking to add 929 Madison Avenue to her New York City store roster, according to The Real Deal. The brand is said to be in talks for a 1,600-square foot ground-floor space within a five-story townhouse just off 74th Street — right around the corner from the Apple store — that has a reported asking rent of about $1,000 per square foot.

This comes on the heels of Monique Lhuillier's likely departure just a few blocks south, since the real estate publication is reporting that the building that houses her bride-favorited boutique at 19 East 71st Street just hit the market for a hefty $26.5 million. It's Lhuillier's first stateside boutique, and it opened back in 2012.

What's coming to take its place is unclear, and won't necessarily be a new store. According to Peter Von Der Ahe of Marcus & Millichap, who have the exclusive listing, anything is possible. "We find that buildings between Fifth and Madison avenues appeal to a much wider audience than other property types," he explains. "On these types of buildings, you get interest from everyone from foreign high net worth individuals to local companies." In addition to the retail space, the 10,145-square-foot building consists of 10 residential apartments upstairs and comes with the potential of 16,000 more square feet due to air rights.

Dates for neither McCartney's potential move-in nor Lhuillier's potential exit were specified.