Burlington Gobbles Up Macy’s Lease in Melville

Burlington is beginning to make a habit of seizing on the struggles of other big-box retailers.

The discount retailer signed a lease to open at the Melville Mall shopping center in Huntington Station, Newsday reported. The 32,000-square-foot lease at 180 Walt Whitman Road covers space formerly occupied by a Macy’s Backstage location.

The off-price Macy’s opened in 2015 and met its demise in March as part of the retailer’s plan to close more than five dozen stores across the country.

The mall is owned by Maryland-based Federal Realty Investment Trust, which declined to comment on the lease. The space is adjacent to a Marshalls and soon, a Dick’s Sporting Goods that is expanding into space formerly occupied by Public Lands.

Other tenants include Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace, Melville Wine, Gregory’s Coffee and Club Pilates.

Burlington’s Melville Mall location is only three miles from another location that opened a mere two years ago. It’s unclear when the Huntington Station store would open.

The retailer is also taking advantage of the plight of other big companies closing.

Last month, the New Jersey-based company took over a pair of leases for two closing Joann locations in Southern California. Subsidiaries of Burlington are looking to pick up 45 leases for the fading fabric brand across 20 states.

Burlington has also been stalking the remnants of Party City and Bed Bath & Beyond in recent months.

Burlington’s footprint on Long Island features 15 stores, six of which have opened in the last 18 months. The company is planning on opening two additional stores on the island this year.

As of early May, Burlington counted 1,115 stores nationwide, an increase of nearly 250 stores from only three years earlier. The goal is to reach 2,000 total stores, including a net increase of 500 between 2024 and 2028.

— Holden Walter-Warner