Saks Global will shutter Neiman Marcus’ flagship store in Dallas, even though the lease dispute that was forcing the closure has been resolved.
“Given our role in the Dallas community, we are working to schedule a meeting with the Dallas Consortium, however, at this time, our plans to close the Downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus remain in place,” a Saks Global spokesperson said. Saks Global last week said the century-plus old store would close March 31.
Neiman Marcus owns the building and most of the land at that location but others own several smaller plots, including one at the center of the disagreement. A consortium of civic leaders brokered a solution Wednesday, removing the impasse.
Disagreement over a small patch of land that sits beneath the escalators at the stately Neiman Marcus flagship seemed to threaten what has been a landmark of Dallas’ retail scene for more than a century. That piece of land is being donated to the city of Dallas, which “will then commit this parcel for the continued operations of the Downtown Neiman Marcus flagship store,” the consortium said.
The group didn’t immediately return a request for comment on Saks Global’s decision to move forward with the closure.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert on Tuesday said the store is integral to the city’s vibrancy and progress.
“It has become part of the fabric of what downtown has become today, this Dallas-born brand, and this store continues to set a standard for excellence in downtown Dallas as a premier luxury destination,” she said. “It has actually helped put Dallas on the international map. And so we believe that it's crucial for Neiman Marcus to remain in this space and continue to serve as a cornerstone of our city's identity and a catalyst for ongoing growth.”
The group of business leaders and city officials scrambled to settle the matter with the Slaughter family, who own the parcel. Conversations between Shawn Todd, founder and chairman of commercial real estate firm Todd Interests, and Stephen Rogers, the asset manager for the Slaughters, continued late into Tuesday evening and then early Wednesday morning.
The family may have been primed to find a solution, as their ancestor C.C. Slaughter was close to the Neiman and Marcus families. For 99 years the Slaughters had charged Neiman Marcus only nominal rent, at most $400 monthly, as stipulated by what the consortium called a “philanthropic lease.” At issue were unspecified terms and conditions on the ground lease under the escalators, the consortium said.
Neither Todd nor Saks Global immediately responded to questions about what exactly had held up the lease agreement, which had been set to expire on March 31.
The consortium was planning a celebration at the Zodiac, a restaurant on the department store’s sixth floor. “The champagne is on us,” the group said.
Saks Global didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether a portrait of the founding Marcus family, which Saks executives have reportedly transported to the East Coast, will be returned.
