Free People LLC, a women’s clothing and accessories store affiliated with Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc., plans to open a store in the former J.C. Penney building downtown, building permit information on file with the city of Spokane shows.
The Free People building permit application shows that a 4,500-square-foot retail bay is being remodeled for the new store in the multitenant 809 Building, at 809 W. Main.
A temporary sign with bright pink lettering posted at the construction site sandwiched between the Müv Fitness studio and the &Kloth clothing store says, “Free People coming soon.”
Free People spokeswoman Katerina Patouhaus says the store is scheduled to open Feb. 10.
The $301,000 tenant-improvement project there will include a new storefront, renovated interiors, and updated lighting, the Free People construction-permit application says.
Bogart Construction Inc., of Irvine, Calif., is the contractor on the project, and NewStudio Architecture, of White Bear Lake, Minn., designed it.
The company’s website says Free People stores feature “American bohemian” fashions.
The store site is less than a block west of the recently opened, 10,000-square-foot Urban Outfitters store, at 211 N. Wall, and is two doors east of the recently opened Anthropologie store, which occupies 12,000 square feet of space in the northwest portion of the 809 Building’s ground floor.
Anthropologie, which also is affiliated with Urban Outfitters, sells women’s clothing and accessories, beauty items, home décor, and furnishings, targeting educated 30- to 45-year-old women, according to its website.
Urban Outfitters opened its store last month at the northwest corner of Wall Street and Main Avenue, which is at the east end of the River Park Square mall complex on the north side of Main.
Urban Outfitters sells men’s and women’s fashion clothing, footwear, and accessories targeted to 18- to 28-year-old consumers, the company’s website says.
Free People, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie boast more than 800 retail outlets combined worldwide.
The 809 Building is a three-story redeveloped mixed-use, retail and residential building.
Current retail shops in the 809 Building are marketed as part of the River Park Square mall, which is centered at 808 N. Main.
The management at River Park Square declined to comment about Free People.
River Park Square and the 809 Building are owned by affiliates of the Cowles Co., which owns the Journal of Business.