Gap to close Fifth Avenue location next year

The Gap is closing down its Fifth Avenue store at the beginning of next year.

Earlier this year, the company said it would shutter hundreds of underperforming stores. And the retailer’s 680 Fifth Avenue location is now set to close on Jan. 1, the New York Post reported.

The store joins other brands that have recently vacated spots along Fifth Avenue, including Ralph Lauren Polo and Henri Bendel. The Gap has been in the building, which is owned by the Buchmann family and sits between West 53rd and 54th streets, since 1997.

In June, Japanese jewelry brand, Mikimoto, renewed its
25,000-square-foot lease in the building. The company initially moved to the Buchmann Tower in 2000 when it subleased space from the Gap, Commercial Observer reported. Mikimoto agreed to move from the building’s fourth floor to the fifth.

To curb widespread retail vacancy in the city, some City Council members have recently advocated for legislation that would limit landlords’ ability to raise rents. The Real Estate Board of New York has indicated that it will fight any approved commercial rent control bill in court. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel