Old Navy to open on 82nd Street, to join recent-arrivals Gap and Banana Republic

Old Navy

Dec. 8, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan

An Old Navy store is set to open up in a historic building on 82^nd Street.

The retailer plans to take over the historic Clark’s department store at 37-46 and 37-50 82^nd Street that was built in the 1920s, and until recently housed Perfumania, Sprint, and a clothing store.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plan at the end of October, which promised to preserve certain aspects of the historic structure. DNAinfo first reported the story.

Over the years, the building has been divided up in to three storefronts. According to the plan presented on October 25, the developer, GreenbergFarrow, would replace the front façade in order to make it more cohesive as a single entity.

However the developer specified that the look of the new store would be consistent with the Jackson Heights Historic District. The developer also plans to leave the Clark’s sidewalk inlay in place as a tribute to the building’s history.

The Old Navy retail space will take up both floors of the building, totaling 13,241 square feet, according to Building Department documents.

The developers bought the property in February 2015 for $16.425 million, but ensured that the stores occupying the space weren’t put out of business, all of which have or will reopen in new locations nearby.

The Sprint store moved right around the corner to 82-05 Roosevelt Avenue, the Perfumania store moved directly across the street from the new Old Navy, and the clothing store will soon reopen at 37-03 82 Street, according to Leslie Ramos of the 82^nd Street Partnership.

The Old Navy joins its sister stores on 82nd Street, Gap and Banana Republic Outlets both opened in the past 18 months, all of which are owned by Gap Inc. It also adds yet another chain store to the strip, which already includes shops like The Children’s Place, Game Stop, Sketchers, and more.

A spokesperson for Gap Inc., representatives from GreenbergFarrow, and the broker for the property did not return requests for comment regarding the timeline of the project.