Storecasting: Bed Bath & Beyond To Land In Harlem?

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The burgeoning retail corridor of Lenox Avenue between 125th and 130th Streets is gaining a big-box retailer: Bed Bath & Beyond. Yes, the home of Brita water pitchers, patio furniture, and Wamsutta sheets, through whose narrow, cluttered aisles pours a foetid stew of college students and world-weary couples, has chosen Harlem as its next target. An informant writes, "Its official a Bed Bath & Beyond is going to open after January 1 on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Ave. Harlem is going to make it!!" Those who follow such developments may recall that the BB&B rumor was printed last week in a Sun piece. The retailer would be the anchor tenant in a new 230,000-square-foot tower from developer Wharton Realty (ah, does anyone have a rendering of this beast?). Though expecting the Harlem Bed Bath & Beyond to open anytime close to the first of January seems a bit ambitious, it looks like the store is definitely coming. Harlem, we hardly knew ya.
UPDATE: From the same source, in regards to when the store will open, "I would say not until late winter of 2008. Also A Macy's opening there too." Interesting.
UPDATE #2: As a commenter pointed out, Macy's coming to Harlem does not seem very probable, but we're inclined to believe the Bed Bath & Beyond rumor, especially since the Sun heard the same thing. Carry on.
· City's Developers Agree: ‘Harlem Has Arrived' [NY Sun]
· Harlem More And More Attractive To Retailers [Racked]