Barneys New York will be returning to its original location in the next few years.
That store, on Seventh Avenue and West 17th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood, had been occupied most recently by Loehmann’s, which declared bankruptcy earlier this week and is expected to close all its stores.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, Barneys executives should announce next week that they will reopen a branch on what once was their signature corner by 2017. Barneys ceo Mark Lee said the downtown location will take up five floors and approximately 57,000 square feet.
WWD said that The Rubin Museum of Art, which is in part of the old Barneys space, will not be affected by the move.
Barneys New York first moved into the location in 1923, when Barney Pressman pawned his wife’s engagement ring for $500 and opened a tiny store specializing in discounted men’s suits. Over the next 50 years, the address became an inseparable part of the retailer’s marketing, almost an extension of its brand name.
Barneys moved uptown in 1993, opening its 240,000-square-foot flagship on Madison Avenue and 60th Street, and closed the Chelsea location in 1997. By then, the luxury retailer was going through bankruptcy reorganization and the Pressmans had lost ownership.
Barneys opened its Barneys Co-op store downtown in 2000, but closed it earlier this year.