Virgin Megastore Times Square Closing: Really Big Clearance Sale Set For Early ’09

We all figured it would happen eventually, but now it’s been confirmed: Vornado will close the Times Square outpost of the Virgin Megastore during the first quarter of next year, in hopes of getting a rent much higher than the $54-a-square-foot rate being paid right now. “We bought the Virgin business to wind it down to get a hold of the real estate,” Retail Real Estate Division head Sandeep Mathrani told Reuters. Well, at least they were honest about it. (Related, which holds the lease on the Union Square outpost of the store and co-owns Virgin Megastores with Vornado, hasn’t announced its plans for that store yet, but the property’s lease expires next February.) What tenant will go in there next remains something of a mystery–especially when you think about how the space that once housed the Dave & Bustery video-game-bar Bar Code, which is right next door to Virgin, has been vacant for a few years now–but we have some suggestions!

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Ah, why am I even bothering? It’s so going to be a bank, because they’re the only outfits left that can pay NYC rents. At least until the economy finally crashes, anyway.

Vornado Goes To Plan B: Closing Virgin Times Sq. [Reuters via Racked] [Photo: minimoniotaku]