Barnes & Noble is moving from Walnut Street to 17th and Chestnut in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s flagship Barnes & Noble location at 1805 Walnut St. will soon be moving to a new, smaller location on Chestnut Street.

A deal has been signed by the bookstore chain and its retail broker, MSC Retail, with the owners of 1708 Chestnut St. The former home of Forever 21 before a wave of bankruptcy-related closures in 2019, the building that will house the bookstore’s new location is owned by the Rubin family, which helped establish modern Center City.

Listed at 19,000 square feet of retail space, the Chestnut Street location is smaller than the current 24,000 square feet on Walnut Street. Both locations offer two floors of retail however, with condominiums above. The rent will be lower, too, although it was unclear by how much.

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The Walnut Street location, which is owned by former city Councilmember Allan Domb, faces Rittenhouse Square. None of the owners or brokers would speak on the record about the move.

Paul Levy, president and CEO of the Center City District, said he saw the move as a natural example of a business seeking new opportunities in a changing downtown retail environment.

“It’s very good for west Chestnut Street, which has been getting very strong, particularly west of 16th Street, with lots of retailers moving in,” Levy said. The bookstore’s new location “is still close enough to Rittenhouse Square and the residential market and closer to Market Street as the office sector comes back.”

Barnes & Noble’s move can be seen as part of a larger retail reshuffling at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Walk-in business plunged during the early months of the outbreak, and some Center City businesses were then hit hard by the unrest following George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers.

Since 2020, leasing conditions have been in flux. Some smaller businesses have closed permanently amid pandemic-era retirements, but the sector as a whole has held up better than expected. Center City District reported retail sales had reached 94% of 2019 levels this summer, while restaurant sales were still only at 74% of pre-pandemic levels.

But many retailers have sought to reposition their stores in locations and deals with stronger leasing terms. J. Crew moved from the Shops at Liberty Place to 1719 Walnut St., for example, while Philly Runner moved from 1601 Sansom St. to 1711 Walnut.

“The pandemic changed a lot of circumstances in the city, but we’ve seen a lot of success with new leasing and people coming in,” Levy said. “We’re really optimistic about the trends.”