Nordstrom to Open on N.Y.’s Park Avenue?

NEW YORK – Nordstrom may be on its way to Manhattan. According to the New York Sun, the Seattle-based department store chain is in negotiations over the site of the former Drake Hotel on East 56th Street and Park Avenue, not far from the Bloomingdale’s flagship.

Observers have long predicted the retailer’s entry into the New York market for some time, but many expected the new department store to open on the West side of Central Park near Columbus Circle.

Crain’s reported today that the property has been owned by Macklowe Properties Inc. since March. Macklowe reportedly bought it for $418 million.

Reached for comment, Nordstrom spokesperson Michael Boyd confirmed that the retailer had been looking for a New York location for “many years,” but said that there was no news regarding any specific site.

“There’s not much to it,” Boyd told MRketplace.com, referring to the New York Sun story. “I don’t have anything for you about that site specifically. We’d love to have a store in Manhattan – it’s been a goal of ours for a long time – but there are a number of sites we’ve looked at. It’s really just about finding the right opportunity at the right time. But there’s no news and no announcement at this point.”

Nordstrom has become more serious about opening a Manhattan store in the last year. In May the company retained the services of Madison Retail Group to help the site selection process. “We’re aggressively looking,” Boyd added.