There’s word from the owners of Neiman-Marcus that it’s flagship downtown store will be closed. That comes hours after city and downtown leaders said it reached a deal over a lease dispute that was blamed for the announcement the store would close. NBC 5’s Katy Blakey reports.
Saks Global says for now it will move forward with closing the flagship Neiman Marcus store, despite a lease dispute being resolved by city leaders.
“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,” said a spokesperson for Saks Global.
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WATCH HEREThose remarks come hours after city leaders and downtown stakeholders announced developments they believed would save the store.
In February the company’s new owners, Saks Global, announced they were being forced to close the landmark location due to a lease dispute with a property owner.
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SIGN UP On Wednesday, The Dallas Consortium for The Downtown Neiman Marcus released a statement saying the owners of the 99-year lease in question agreed to donate the land for continued operations of the flagship store.
According to the statement, it was a “philanthropic” lease with C.C. Slaughter, who was close friends with the Neiman family and the Marcus family. After conversations with a family representative, the Slaughter family confirmed their intention to donate the land to the city Wednesday morning.
“This kind of vision and cooperation between the real estate community, Downtown stakeholders and longtime passionate Neiman Marcus customers have been the driving force motivating us for the betterment of our city," said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert in the statement. “We are committed to ensure that the flagship Neiman Marcus store in Downtown is open for many years to come with no barriers related to this land lease.”
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A meeting is planned between Dallas leaders and Saks Global next week, but for now Saks is planning to close March 31.
“The Saks meeting has not occurred so we will know more after the meeting with the executives,” said Monica Gonzalez, VP of Marketing and Communications for Downtown Dallas Inc.
