Nordstrom Not At All Close To Signing A Manhattan Lease

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There's been a whole lot of speculation recently about Nordstrom narrowing the search for a space in Manhattan. For those who don't know, the high-end department store has been looking to expand into NYC for years; recently, they hired Madison Retail Group to do the searching for them. For local shoppers, all the speculation has been kind of a drag—hearing reports that the company had found a space, then having those reports squashed. So we haven't let ourselves get too excited about the latest hoopla, wherein the retailer is rumored to be considering the former Drake Hotel space on Park Avenue and 56th Street. The desire for a NYC-based Nordstrom store is so heated that WWD devotes a lengthy article to that unsubstantiated rumor today, though even they admit that they're reaching:

Nordstrom Inc. has been searching Manhattan's East Side, West Side, uptown and downtown for a flagship site and the latest property of interest appears to be the former Drake Hotel on Park Avenue, according to published reports. It's being redeveloped by Macklowe Partners, which is said to be planning condominiums for the building, located on the northwest corner of Park and 56th Street....In any case, the fast-growing and aggressive Seattle-based Nordstrom is not near to securing a site in Manhattan. As one source close to the chain said: "The Drake is a real project that has a lot of appeal. But I think it's premature to say it's imminent. There are other alternatives in the Manhattan market to consider, and there is more work to be done on the potential deal/economics of the Drake site."

So there you have it, folks. Nothing has been decided yet, and as much as we would love to jump aboard this Drake Hotel bandwagon, it just doesn't feel right. When there's some real news about Nordstrom in Manhattan, we'll let you know.
· Nordstrom Considering Park Avenue Site [WWD, subscription req]
· Nordstrom Narrows The Search, Says No To MePa [Racked]
· RackedWire: Deal for Nordstrom Flagship Fizzles [Racked]