The furniture store West Elm opens its doors in the downtown Woodward & Lothrop Building today, making it not only the largest retailer to occupy the historic building, but also the largest furniture store in the District at just under 40,000 square feet.
Mayor Adrian Fenty and Councilmember Kwame Brown, D-at large, will be on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.
City officials hope that the Williams-Sonoma-owned retailer will continue the revitalization of the downtown area of the District, an effort spurred inpart by the Downtown Retail Tax Increment Financing Program.
“This is a really big win for our downtown. … We lose about $1 billion a year in retail sales to the suburbs,” said Sean Madigan, communications director of the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development. To that end, the TIF program, which seeks to attract unique stores, especially apparel and home goods retailers, contributed $4.9 million to West Elm. The money is used to help pay for build-out costs and will be repaid through future taxes generated by West Elm.
The West Elm store will bring a “distinct style” that is “sleek and modern,” said Barbara Lang, president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce. “We have a lot of young singles moving into the city … and a lot of new condo units going up all around this area. That style of furniture will complement [the area].”
While the store may be modern, West Elm worked to preserve the details of the historic “Woodies” building, such as the moldings and the original floors, according to Dave DeMattei, group president of Williams-Sonoma. The building was purchased by the Douglas Development Corporation in 1998 after the Woodies department store, a local landmark, closed in 1995. “We loved the idea of it being an old retail location with history,” DeMattei said.
The West Elm store will also be the flagship location for the brand, with twice the square footage of a typical store.
