Simon Property Group has a plan to replace the outgoing Neiman Marcus store at Copley Place in Boston with fine dining and luxury stores.
Saks Global said on Tuesday that it will soon close the Neiman Marcus store in Copley Place — and Simon, the nation’s largest owner and operator of shopping centers, was ready with a plan to redevelop the space.
Simon indicated: “The multilevel redevelopment will introduce a world-class roster of internationally recognized luxury retail brands and notable dining to Copley Place. The additions include Casa Tua Cucina, the beloved Miami-born culinary marketplace, rooted in Italian heritage and offering globally inspired cuisine in a beautifully curated, open-kitchen setting, as well as Estiatorio Milos, a globally acclaimed Greek seafood restaurant founded by restauranteur Costas Spiliadis. Milos sources fresh seafood and produce from local fishermen and farmers across Greece and the Mediterranean.
The Neiman Marcus store is expected to close at the end of April.
Simon expects to announce what luxury boutiques will open in the space at a later date. There’s already a strong roster of luxury stores at Copley Place including Balenciaga, McQueen, Carolina Herrera, Christian Louboutin, Dior, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Moncler, Saint Laurent, Thom Brown and Versace.
“Copley Place has always been Boston’s most exclusive luxury destination, located in the heart of the thriving Back Bay,” said Mark Silvestri, president of development at Simon, in a statement. “By introducing these globally recognized brands and iconic dining concepts, we’re taking an already exceptional experience to an entirely new level. No other location in the market delivers this caliber of luxury in one place.”
Construction, which will include an exterior remodeling, is expected to begin later this year with phased openings, including additional retail, dining and wellness concepts, in 2028.
The upscale Copley Place has two levels of shopping, restaurants, four office buildings, 1,400 parking spaces and access to two hotels, The Westin hotel and the Boston Marriott Copley Place.
Simon did not specify how much it plans to spend on redeveloping the Neiman’s store in Copley Place, but it did indicate that $100 million has been budgeted for that project and some other redevelopments yet to be disclosed. In a nation that’s largely overstored, there’s little room left to build new shopping centers, so mall owners have been focusing on modernizing existing properties.
Saks Global, in its initial round of luxury store closings in bankruptcy, said on Tuesday that eight Saks Fifth Avenue’s stores would also go dark around April. It’s expected that Saks Global will eventually close more luxury stores. Retail bankruptcies have had a major impact on malls and their landlords who must seek out new tenants to fill sites being vacated, and/or devise redevelopment plans. In the past week, Eddie Bauer and Francesca’s both went bankrupt.
