Brooks Bros. Headed for Skinner Building

SEATTLE-Brooks Brothers has signed a lease that will move and expand its Downtown storefront here from about 5,000 sf at Rainier Square into about 15,000 sf across Fifth Avenue in the Skinner Building. Both buildings are managed by Unico Properties on behalf of the University of Washington.

The high-end clothier will be located at the corner of Fifth Ave. and Union St., on the ground floor of the Skinner Building. The lease will backfill about half the space being vacated in February by Eddie Bauer, which is looking to downsize its Downtown space from 32,000 sf to between 8,000- and 10,000 sf, according to Unico. Unico tells GlobeSt.com it is hoping to accommodate Eddie Bauer somewhere else its Downtown portfolio, but acknowledges the retailer also is negotiating with owners of buildings closer to Pacific Place and Westlake Mall.

Brooks Brothers, which has leased space Downtown since 1977, celebrated its 185th anniversary this year as America’s oldest clothing retailer. Unico general manager John Miller says the departure of Eddie Bauer has made available “the kind of high-profile, premium downtown space that Brooks Brothers has been waiting for.”