Saks Fifth Avenue has signed a letter of intent to relocate its downtown Cincinnati store to The Kenwood Collection, which Phillips Edison & Company is transforming from a regional destination to a super-regional retail destination drawing shoppers from three states.
The letter of intent calls for Saks to lease approximately 80,000 square feet of retail space over two levels of the building that fronts Interstate I-71. The store is preliminarily scheduled to open in the spring of 2016.
"The reinvention of The Kenwood Collection continues," said David Birdsall, president of Phillips Edison & Company's Strategic Investment Funds (SIF). "Securing a commitment from Saks Fifth Avenue is a major step in realizing our vision of creating a premiere shopping experience at The Kenwood Collection. Saks will be an anchor that allows us to attract new-to-market retailers and drive new customers to our region from the entire Midwest area."
Birdsall said The Kenwood Collection is strategically located within 90 minutes of more than five million people with $15.5 billion in spending power.
Terms of the lease are not being released. Birdsall said that the redevelopment of The Kenwood Collection, including the new Saks store, involves significant investments of private capital in the property.
"The announcement is tremendous news and a great opportunity for the community because it keeps Saks Fifth Avenue in Hamilton County," Birdsall said. "With Saks as an anchor, The Kenwood Collection will generate net new sales taxes and other economic benefits for the county and the entire region."
Phillips Edison & Company's Strategic Investment Fund purchased The Kenwood Collection -- formerly known as Kenwood Towne Place -- in July 2012 from a bank-lending group led by Bank of America. Adjacent to Kenwood Towne Centre in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Sycamore Township, The Kenwood Collection consists of 300,000 square feet of upscale retail and 200,000 square feet of Class A office space.
Current retail tenants include Crate & Barrel, The Container Store and Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa. Neace Lukens, one of the region's largest insurance companies, has agreed to lease one of the seven floors in the planned office tower.
The development and construction of Kenwood Towne Place was interrupted in 2008 due to financial problems encountered by the previous developer.
