{"id":290068,"date":"2026-07-08T09:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290068\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:30:37","slug":"the-former-downtown-brooklyn-macys-is-going-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290068\/","title":{"rendered":"The Former Downtown Brooklyn Macy\u2019s is Going Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n Rendering of the BKX complex planned for the former Macy\u2019s space on Fulton Street.
\n Photo: Dreamscape\n <\/p>\n

When the Commercial Observer revealed developers\u2019 plans<\/a> for the former Macy\u2019s space on Fulton Mall, I was both super disappointed and super impressed. Disappointed because the proposed 440,000-square-foot \u201cnext-generation cultural and commercial hub\u201d sounds like a retail and entertainment complex better suited to Vegas then Downtown Brooklyn. The tenant mix will include \u201cflagship retailers, entertainment concepts, immersive attractions, food and beverage experiences and next-generation brands seeking a highly visible urban presence,\u201d plus a fitness or wellness facility. Meanwhile, the five-story atrium with its giant LED screens will \u201cdraw people in whether they want to shop or play or create Instagrammable moments.\u201d The plan is brought to us in part by Dreamscape<\/a>, the same company behind Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport<\/a>, the Rio Las Vegas<\/a> hotel and casino, and the Arcade<\/a> shopping complex in Nashville. (It\u2019s also partnering with ICrave, a company involved in the Vegas Sphere<\/a> and a Times Square experiential tower<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But I was impressed when I remembered a story I wrote back when Macy\u2019s was closing in Febuary 2025. The developers, I realized, are giving Downtown Brooklyn shoppers exactly what they said they wanted.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d spent a couple afternoons at the ghostly liquidation sale, mainly to check out the scene and see what people were buying (luggage, jeans, and exfoliating socks, as it happens). But I was also curious to hear what people wanted to see replace the department store, which they claimed to have loved but apparently never patronized (the failing location accounted for 25 percent of Macy\u2019s retail square footage but only 10 percent of its sales, according to the Observer).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The former Macy\u2019s during its February 2025 liquidation sale.
\n Photo: Yuki Iwamura\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

As I reported on my blog at the time<\/a>, a few of the shoppers I surveyed told me they wanted a department store similar to the old Macy\u2019s \u2014 preferably a new Macy\u2019s! But most said they didn\u2019t need more places to shop; isn\u2019t that what the internet is for? What they really wanted was something fun to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a kids\u2019 space \u2014 a cheap kids\u2019 space,\u201d said Lisa, a project manager from Kensington. \u201cJust activities for kids to jump around. Trampolines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFive stories of trampolines!\u201d I suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids would love that,\u201d she agreed.<\/p>\n

Thomas, who lived in Dumbo and was browsing the menswear department, envisioned a giant nightclub: \u201cLike Danceteria back in the day. It was a different theme on each floor. Fantastic. You\u2019d get off the elevator and everything would be blue, blue lights. And another floor \u2014 disco lighting!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA casino! Boom!\u201d said an unhoused man roaming the store. \u201cSomeplace you can go to get a manicure and a pedicure. A spa with a swimming pool and a nice restaurant, something upscale,\u201d said Darlene, a Bed-Stuy cop. Two people wanted a movie theater. Angie, a home-health aid, wanted a wellness center where ladies could easily get a mammogram or colonoscopy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much stuff we\u2019re missing,\u201d said Tommy, a young man shopping for a belt. \u201cHands-on stuff. Get the kids interacting, off their phones. Dart games. All types of water games. Right now, Coney Island is the only water games you have. A little Coney Island this side of town? It\u2019d be awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Coney Island\u201d is a stretch. But the mix the developers proposed does sound like everything the liquidation shoppers were dreaming of \u2014 all smushed together into one big \u201cmagnet for locals and tourists alike.\u201d In its marketing brochure<\/a>, Dreamspace says the complex, which is the largest block of retail space available anywhere in New York City, will \u201cdefine Brooklyn\u2019s next chapter.\u201d For some, it seems, that\u2019s a wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rendering of the BKX complex planned for the former Macy\u2019s space on Fulton Street. Photo: Dreamscape When the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[13620,98,100,99,5463,3076,110885,21140,5461,110886,6966,27044,9,24,63,5943],"class_list":["post-290068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brick-and-mortar","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-cityscape","tag-downtown-brooklyn","tag-dreamscape","tag-experiential-spaces","tag-fulton-mall","tag-icrave","tag-las-vegas","tag-macys","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}