NEW YORK CITY-Express, the Columbus, OH specialty apparel and accessories retailer, is nearing a deal for a new retail flagship store at 1552 Broadway in the heart of Times Square’s “bow tie,” an unnamed source confirms to GlobeSt.com following a series of media reports. Last year, GlobeSt.com reported that the retailer was considering to take a 45,000-square-foot space inside the former ESPN Zone at 4 Times Square owned by the Durst Organization, but the transaction was never finalized.

The chain, which operates more than 600 stores with approximately 5.2 million gross square feet across the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, said in its first quarter earnings report that the company has made a decision to move to a “more desirable location in New York,” which will delay the opening of the store until fall 2013.

During an earnings call, Michael Weiss, the CEO of Express, said that the company “had identified a location we were satisfied with,” according to the Wall Street Journal. He commented: “However, a much stronger location became available and we were even more excited about it.”