Filene's In Scramble for Temp Downtown Location

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BOSTON-Filene’s Basement will move part of its business above ground next month when it takes space on the first floor of its Downtown Crossing building in a scramble to find another temporary offsite home for its flagship store during renovation work.

Store officials said that, unless a new Downtown Crossing location is found, they may have to close the well-known basement store for two years while the property’s new owners, the locally based Gale Group and Vornado Realty Trust of New York City, undertake a massive overhaul of the building. The property is part of four Downtown Crossing buildings purchased by the developers as part of a $100-million acquisition of Federated Department Stores. The joint venture group plans to turn the four buildings into a 1.2-million-sf mixed-use development. The project includes the construction of a 38-story office tower along with condominium apartments, retail space and a hotel.