Departure of Saks from downtown Seattle hits retail core with another bit of bad news
Jul 12, 2024, 2:19 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2024, 10:54 am
Saks OFF 5th at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle will close on July 20. (Photo via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo via Flickr Creative Commons)
Downtown Seattle’s retail core is taking another hit with the announcement that Saks OFF 5th will close this month.
The Saks store posted signs this week that July 20 will be its final day.
“I go there a couple of times a month, and now it’s just another big empty location downtown,” Camilla Koon, a shopper who works downtown, told the Seattle Times. “It’s great to have Nordstrom Rack still, but so many other stores are closing.”
Saks’ closure follows other major retailers, including Nike, The North Face and Vans, that have all pulled out of the area.
Retail core: North Face closes downtown Seattle flagship store
Saks and Brookfield Properties, which owns Westlake Center, did not respond to requests for comment.
Crime and sagging retail sales are outlined as the two biggest reasons for retail’s departure from downtown.
According to the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), daily office worker foot traffic has reached about half of what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism fared well in 2023 when Seattle had 3.5 million out-of-town visitors, the most since 2019 when 4.1 million people visited.
“We know it’s going to take some time, but foot traffic is coming back, and when the Waterfront Project is completed, we’re hopeful things will return to normal,” DSA head Jon Scholes said in an earlier interview with MyNorthwest.
But, for now, there is still a lack of Seattle-area residents visiting downtown. According to the DSA, in December, about 426,000 people who live within 10 miles of the retail core came downtown, roughly 360,000 fewer people than in December 2019.
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It’s not all closures downtown. Last year, Japan-based retailer Uniqlo opened on the ground floor of the former Bon Marché/Macy’s building, and this year, the outdoor clothing brand Himali opened its first Seattle store near Westlake Center.
Saks’ parent company recently signed a deal to buy Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion, with financial help from Amazon, which will hold a minority stake. Neiman Marcus Group owns Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores.
Westlake Center, a prominent feature of downtown Seattle, has a rich history that spans several decades. According to historylink.org, the idea to transform the Westlake area into a vibrant urban park with commercial and retail outlets was first proposed in the 1960s as part of a vision to revitalize Seattle’s downtown core.
Over the years, Westlake Center has undergone several renovations to accommodate larger store spaces and respond to the evolving retail landscape, particularly with the opening of the adjacent Pacific Place shopping mall.
Despite the changes, Westlake Center has remained a central hub for shopping and dining.
