Ross Dress for Less is moving to former Marshalls location in Center City

Ross Dress for Less, the discount department store, is moving a few blocks west on Market Street, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Ross Dress for Less is currently located in the historic Lits Building.

The new lot at 1044 Market St. is over 25,000 square feet and owned by New York-based Jenel Real Estate. The property also includes a CVS and the Freire Charter School. The space was previously occupied by Marshalls but has been vacant since the retailer closed in January.

Center City has struggled to attract shoppers and recover from the pandemic with fewer employees working from offices in the area. In addition to the Marshalls closure, Wawa has been reducing its store count in Center City, citing “continued safety and security challenges.” Target closed its location at 12th and Chestnut Street earlier this year.

A representative for Ross Dress for Less confirmed a new lease had been signed. . Brickstone Realty Co., which owns the Lits building, and Jenel Real Estate, which owns the 1044 Market St. lot, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ross Dress for Less, one of the major discount department chains in the country, was founded in 1982. It is part of Ross Stores Inc., headquartered in Dublin, Calif., and had a fiscal revenue of $18.7 billion last year.

The move to the new Center City location comes as Ross Stores Inc. has been expanding its footprint with a goal to open 100 new stores during the 2023 fiscal year, which ends this month. As of July, Ross Stores had 2,061 locations in 41 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam, including its Ross Dress for Less brand and its discount line dd’s DISCOUNTS. The company opened 27 new stores in the months of June and July.

“These recent openings reflect our ongoing plans to continue building our presence in both existing and newer markets,” Gregg McGillis, executive vice president for property development, said in a statement in July.

As of Friday, Ross Stores Inc. did not have any job openings listed on its website for the new Market Street location, although the company is hiring for at least 92 positions throughout stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Ross Dress for Less already has several locations in the Philadelphia region. There are two locations in South Philly (Whitman Plaza and the South Philadelphia Shopping Center); two in North Philadelphia (Imperial Plaza and in Bakers Center), and a Northeast location at the Roosevelt Mall.