Furniture retailer West Elm is decamping from its three Two Trees Management-owned locations to become the anchor tenant at Midtown Equities’ Empire Stores in Dumbo.
The new location at 55 Water Street will give West Elm 150,000 square feet of space. Construction on the $150 million Empire Stores project — in which Midtown Equities will redevelop seven 19th Century warehouses with 80,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and event space and 300,000 square feet of upstairs office space — is scheduled to begin in early 2014 and to be completed in the fall of 2015.
Wet Elm has a 20-year deal for its new space, and will move its headquarters, West Elm store and West Elm market store to the location. An outdoor seating area and coffee shop in partnership with La Colombe are also in the works.
Two Trees, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Crain’s, reportedly bid on the Empire Stores project but was outmaneuvered by Midtown Equities, led by Joe Cayre.
There is no word yet on what’s in store for West Elm’s previous Dumbo spots at 75 Front Street, 50 Washington Street and 45 Main Street. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland