Nordstrom Is A No-Go

The decision was made by Nordstrom's board of directors at a meeting in New York City late Tuesday afternoon.

Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy said that, with a Nordstrom department store out of the picture, his downtown redevelopment plan must be scrapped.

Murphy said Friday that an entirely new redevelopment plan needs to be started from scratch.

Pete Nordstrom, president of the company's full line store group, issued the following statement on Friday afternoon.

"This was a difficult decision to make, but a necessary one. We'd like to have a downtown Pittsburgh store, but the timing is not right for our business now. We're going to leave the door open to revisiting this opportunity in the future."

Murphy had said repeatedly that the upscale department store chain is a cornerstone of his $522 million downtown redevelopment plan -- known as the Market Place at Fifth and Forbes -- that would include a movie multiplex and 60 specialty shops.

The city had offered Nordstrom more than $30 million in incentives to build a store in Pittsburgh.

However, historic preservationists and business owners whose buildings might be seized and razed to make way for a Nordstrom opposed the city's plan.

Chicago developer Urban Retail Properties had said that the Fifth and Forbes project would not occur unless Nordstrom committed to the project. Urban Retail officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Nordstrom Inc. is a fashion specialty retailer, has 120 stores in 24 states nationwide, including 77 full-line stores.

Nordstrom recently shook up its top management. Company earnings are down 38 percent from $5.1 billion in 1999 and stock is down 35 percent since June, dropping 5 percent on Tuesday alone. Analysts say that it will take at least a year for the company to recover. Click here to see the latest about Nordstrom's stocks.

Two high-profile department stores have committed to downtown Pittsburgh in the past two years. Lazarus, a division of Federated Department Stores of Atlanta, opened a store in 1998, while Lord & Taylor, a division of St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co., opened a store earlier this month.

Feedback:

Fifth And Forbes: Now What? Tell us your ideas for downtown development.
SURVEY: Which do you favor? The new Marketplace plan or a more traditional downtown look?

Previous Stories:

• September 1, 2000: Nordstrom Says No To Cranberry
• July 11, 2000: Nordstrom At Center Of Downtown Debate
• July 10, 2000: Fifth And Forbes Preservation Possible
• June 27, 2000: Nordstrom: Will They Or Won't They?