A skyscraper may be built on top of Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue flagship
The 103-year-old landmarked Lord & Taylor flagship store at 424 Fifth Avenue may be getting a luxurious makeover. As the New York Post learned, the speculative project includes constructing a steel-and-glass skyscraper and redeveloping the building into an office and residential tower, keeping the 11-story department store as the base. Sources tell the Post that NYC property executive Richard Baker, who acquired Lord & Taylor in 2008, is behind the development talks. And though few details are known, “real estate insiders” point out that nearby towers rise as high as 60 stories.
Baker, who also bought the Saks Fifth Avenue Chain in 2013, serves as the executive chairman of the Hudson Bay Company, and over the past nine years, he’s invested millions of dollars renovating some of its stores. Last year, the company spent $25 million overhauling its Stamford, Connecticut location and it is currently putting $35 million into a Lord & Taylor store in Manhasset, Long Island. They just finished a $12 million refurbishing of one floor in its Manhattan location and expects to spend another $250 million on the whole property. Plus, the store currently is renovating an additional four stores, expected to be completed this fall.
What a 55-story (550-foot) tower would look like at the site, via CityRealty
At the flagship, they just finished a $12 million overhaul of the fifth floor, creating what they claim is the world’s largest dress floor, which sells dresses that cost as much as $14,000, ten times the amount of dresses before renovations. This is part of a larger, multi-year renovation of the store that’s expected to cost $250 million. Lord & Taylor president Liz Rodbell told the Post, “These updates are creating more fluid spaces, adding brightness to the floors and more excitement for our customers.”
[Via NY Post]
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