On Thursday (May 18), Marshalls is slated to open a 65,000 square foot store in the former Verizon building, on the block bounded by Vesey, Washington, Barclay, and West Streets. The entrance to the new store will be at 206 Washington Street (the corner of Vesey and Washington).
This appears to be a contrarian bet by the chain, at a time when luxury brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue are planting their flags Downtown. Marshalls (along with its sister-brand, T.J. Maxx, which has had a Lower Manhattan outpost at 14 Wall Street since 2011) is the largest off-price apparel retailer in America. Both Marshalls and T.J. Maxx appear poised to compete with the behemoth of Downtown discount fashion: Century 21, which has been retailing schmatta on nearby Church Street since 1961.
The trophy space within the historic building was briefly considered as a location for a Bloomingdale’s store, and then for outposts by Nike and Under Armour.
The structure in which Marshalls will set up shopkeeping was designed by architect Ralph Walker in 1923. Initially known as the New York Telephone Building, and later as the Verizon Building, it is generally cited as the first Art Deco skyscraper in America. Landmarked in 1999, it sustained heavy damage during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, after which the building underwent a $1.4 billion restoration.
In 2013, the building was sold for $274 million to real estate developers who renamed it 100 Barclay, and have now completed the process of converting tiny luxury condominiums the space formerly used for offices and telephone switching equipment.