Saks to close Downtown on March 17, sale begins
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Clearance signs at Saks Fifth Avenue on Smithfield Street. The Downtown store will close on St. Patrick's Day.
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St. Patrick's Day won't bring much luck for those who like to shop at Saks Fifth Avenue Downtown.
The upscale retailer plans to close its longtime Smithfield Street store that day, officially bringing to a close a long run in Pittsburgh.
Saks launched a "farewell" liquidation sale Thursday, offering customers 10 percent to 40 percent off merchandise in anticipation of the March 17 closing.
"We have enjoyed being a part of the Pittsburgh community for over 60 years and extend our sincere appreciation to our many loyal customers and our dedicated associates there," spokeswoman Julia Bentley said.
The retailer announced in October that it would be closing the Downtown store this year, but did not say at the time just when that would happen.
Saks' lease with Oliver-Smithfield Joint Venture, its landlord, runs until Sept. 21. However, Ms. Bentley said in her email Thursday that the retailer was able to negotiate an earlier closing date.
About 95 employees will be offered severance packages, assistance in transferring to other locations or re-employment assistance, Ms. Bentley said. A few already have transferred to other stores and others may follow, she said.
The city offered Saks nearly $8.6 million in tax credits, state and county grants and a low-interest loan for store improvements in a bid to keep the tony retailer Downtown.
However, Saks determined that it "would not be practical" to accept the offer because of revenue declines and the loss of several key designers at the location.
With Saks ready to depart, Oliver-Smithfield Joint Venture has decided to put the four-floor, 86,000-square-foot building up for sale, said Herky Pollock, the CB Richard Ellis executive vice president who is the broker for the property.
Oliver-Smithfield Joint Venture, which has multiple partners, is seeking $5.5 million for the building, which will go on the market next week.
"Given the fact that most of the owners are elderly, their appetite for redevelopment at this stage of their career is virtually non-existent," Mr. Pollock said. He added he is looking for a buyer "who has the desire to put a redevelopment plan in place for multiple users and uses or a single user that wishes to purchase the building."
Mr. Pollock said he has had some interest from retailers who would take a portion of the space, but has not been able to find anyone interested in the entire building.
Across the street from Saks, the building that once housed the Lord & Taylor department store has been vacant for nearly seven years. Mr. Pollock said that location would be difficult to subdivide and it is a historic site, which limits what can be done with the building.
He doesn't see the same prolonged vacancy ahead for the Saks building.
"This building is much more easily subdivided," he said, adding it is more like the former Lazarus-Macy's store on Fifth Avenue, which was converted into residential, office and commercial space.
Saks has been at the Smithfield Street location since 1976. Before that, the retailer was housed in a former Gimbel's department store.
With Saks' closing, Macy's will be the only remaining department store Downtown. Saks is the third department store to close in the city's core since 2004.
First Published January 20, 2012 12:00 am
