Report: Barneys’ San Francisco store in $1.5M remodel

New York City Barneys New York getting ready to begin a $1.5 million remodel of its San Francisco store, a contentious project that is being driven by the need to relocate utilities for the $1.6 billion Central Subway project, according to San Francisco Business Times. The project, which will break ground on June 7, will be built by the Weitz Co.

The 60,000-sq.-ft. Barneys is located at 77 O’Farrell St., in the Union Square area. Of the 3,500 sq. ft. affected on the occupied lower level, 1,100 sq. ft. will be turned over to the City of San Francisco to accommodate relocation of utilities for the Central Subway project. The remaining space will be renovated to house the cosmetics and fragrance departments.

“Weitz will complete this critical retrofit in a 12-week time frame to avoid as much customer inconvenience as possible as well as to adhere to the city’s schedule for the new downtown subway” said Bill Hornaday, west region president of the Weitz Co.

Barneys had originally fought the city mandate that they give up the space, arguing that they had already invested millions in building out the sub-basement level as retail space. Barneys and the property owner, Stockton Street Properties, filed separate appeals against The City’s decision to take back its sub-basement. The Board of Supervisors rejected the appeals in January.