Old Navy, a downtown mainstay, is closing its State Street store

Clothing retailer Old Navy said Monday that it is closing its State Street location, dealing a blow to a historic shopping district that has generally held its own despite rising crime downtown and fewer workers visiting their offices since the pandemic.

Old Navy said it will close its store at 150 N. State St. at the end of business Tuesday. It has operated at the prime corner location, a former Borders bookstore, since November 2012. Old Navy is a brand owned by Gap, which in 2021 removed a flagship store from Chicago’s Water Tower Place.

“We regularly and thoughtfully review our real estate to support the best path forward for our brand and Gap Inc. Our Old Navy State Street location will close end of day on Tuesday, 1/24,” a spokesperson said in an email.

She said customers can shop other Chicago locations at 150 W. Roosevelt Road; 1596 N. Kingsbury St.; and 1730 W. Fullerton Ave. Farther from downtown, Old Navy has six stores in the Chicago area. The spokesperson did not answer specific questions about the reasons for the closure.

Michael Edwards, president and chief executive of the downtown business group Chicago Loop Alliance, said he is disappointed with Old Navy’s departure but said he believes the space will attract a new user. He said State Street is evolving beyond a mainly retail focus, but it has seen some new interest from merchants.

British footwear retailer JD Sports has opened at 10 S. State and Saks Off Fifth is reopening at 6 S. State after a pandemic hiatus. John Vance, principal at Stone Real Estate, said the Saks off-price store will reopen in March.

Concerning the Old Navy space, Vance said, “It’s not the end of the world because that’s a really good corner. It will re-lease.” The site is across from the Block 37 mixed-used development and kitty-corner from Macy’s.

“The Loop retail market has had its difficulties for sure, but the spaces that are vacant are really good spaces,” said Vance, whose firm is updating its annual survey of the downtown retail market. He said he hopes to see a slight dip in 2022 from the year-end 2021 retail vacancy rate of 27.44%.

Edwards said the Loop continues to benefit from its 50,000 college students and about 45,000 residents. Although downtown office workers are mostly staying at home part of the time, Edwards said activity is picking up from visitors and conventioneers.

He said many restaurants are becoming hard to book when there’s a big meeting or trade show in town. “It kind of feels like it’s coming back,” Edwards said.

Before moving to 150 N. State, Old Navy had operated at 35 N. State, a large space now occupied by the Irish fashion retailer Primark.