J. Crew and Madewell to Take Over Brooklyn

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If the J. Crew store coming to Cobble Hill gets your blood boiling, then you'd better be sitting down for this. WWD reports that the brand is planning to open shop in Williamsburg and Park Slope in August. And that's not all—"A lease for a Madewell in Williamsburg is also in the works."

This news was buried deep in a feature story on Bird owner Jennifer Mankins, who has been friends with J. Crew chairman and CEO Mickey Drexler since she started carrying Madewell in her stores.

"Jen's my Williamsburg connection. She's probably one of the reasons we're opening there," Drexler told the paper. Sounds like an independent boutique is inadvertently ushering in national chains. WWD adds: "The two still have lunch on the regular, when she brings the self-proclaimed 'Manhattan-centric' Drexler to the cool restaurants in Brooklyn."

Curiously, they failed to mention the Cobble Hill store opening, which is supposed to be the brand's first in the borough, and they did not specify the address of the Park Slope store. We wrote yesterday that the Williamsburg location is likely at 234-236 Wythe Avenue, just down the street from the forthcoming Whole Foods.

Update: The Commercial Observer is reporting that J. Crew paid $90 per square foot for the Wythe Avenue space—plus another $3.5 million for "significant improvements to the property."
· The Bird's Eye of Brooklyn [WWD]
· Is It or Isn't It? Talk of J. Crew Williamsburg Heating Up [Racked NY]
· Independent Brownstone Brooklyn Stores Aren't Afraid of J. Crew [Racked NY]