By Keiko Morris
Gap Inc. announced on Friday it will set up two new flagship
stores for its Gap and Old Navy brands in Manhattan's Times
Square.
The company said it plans to create two separate stores for its
apparel brands at the Bow Tie Building near the intersection of
Broadway and Seventh Avenue at West 44th Street. Owned by Bow Tie
Partners, the Bow Tie Building opened in 1936.
The shops each will take 31,000 square feet at 1514-1530
Broadway in a space now occupied by Toys "R" Us. The toy retailer
decided it wouldn't renew its lease, which expires in 2016.
Construction of the stores' interior is expected to be completed in
early 2017.
"This signature spot builds on Gap Inc.'s continued commitment
to showcase its brands in ideal locations that best serve
customers," said Sean Piazza, Gap Inc.'s spokesman.
The announcement of the two stores follows news earlier this
month that the specialty retailer would shutter about 175 Gap brand
stores over the next few years in an effort to "showcase the brand
in the most successful locations," the company said in a press
release.
Asking rents for retail space in the Times Square area was about
$2,508 a square foot in the first quarter of the year, according to
real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
The district draws about 350,000 pedestrians daily, according to
the Times Square Alliance.
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