Bottega Veneta eyes Wildenstein townhouse

Handbag seller looking at 30,000-square-foot property at 740 Madison Avenue

From left: 740 Madison Avenue and the interior of a Bottega Veneta store
From left: 740 Madison Avenue and the interior of a Bottega Veneta store

High-end handbag and accessory purveyor Bottega Veneta is mulling a lease for part of the Wildenstein family’s townhouse at 740 Madison Avenue.

The roughly 30,000-square-foot building once held a mix of retail stores and 14 apartments on the upper levels, but is now vacant and on the hunt for new tenants. Bottega Veneta, which already has a store on Fifth Avenue next to the St. Regis, is looking for a new space following the store’s 2012 purchase by rival luxury goods company Richemont in a $375 million deal.

The Wildenstein family are internationally known art dealers.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The store also has a men’s store at 23 East 67th Street and a women’s spot at 849 Madison Avenue between 70th and 71st streets.

“It’s a really important corner for Madison Avenue,” Matthew Bauer, president of the Madison Avenue BID, told the New York Post. “They are a great brand and would enhance the area if they open in what is now a vacant building.” [NYP, 2nd item]Julie Strickland