BUCKTOWN — An upscale Bucktown boutique for men and women is showcasing something not so happy: a "For Lease" sign.
Scoop NYC at 1702 N. Milwaukee Ave. opened eight years ago, according to real estate broker Jerry Becker, who's trying to find a new tenant to replace the boutique.
According to its website, Scoop NYC offers "a highly edited selection of the season’s best fashion items from both internationally acclaimed and young emerging designers."
Summer arrivals include bright, colorful dresses by Clover Canyon, Alice + Olivia, Zac Posen and Marc Jacobs and trendy jackets for men.
Becker said that there's been "a lot of interest" in the 9,800-square-foot building since he put it on the market in April.
Schools and medical offices are among recent inquiries, Becker said.
According to an online listing, the prominent standalone space across from the Bucktown-Wicker Park library at 1701 N. Milwaukee Ave. is renting for $40 per square-foot and includes 15 parking spots.
While the building's open layout makes it easy to divide into two separate storefronts of 4,200 and 5,660-square-feet — and a worker at Scoop NYC who wished not to be named said Wednesday they are "planning to share the space" — Becker said it's "likely" Scoop won't be staying.
Becker said that Scoop NYC is eight years into a long-term lease and had tried to sublease the building on its own, though they "hadn't made much progress." So he was brought in by the building's owner to assist with the effort.
"Once we have commitments from other users we will work something out with Scoop," Becker said.
"There's a high probability that we're going to secure an understanding with another user by the fall and it's likely Scoop is not part of the equation," Becker said.
Scoop NYC started in SoHo, New York in 1996 and has 15 locations, including Las Vegas, Boston and Dallas, Texas.
After making its first entry into Chicago in Bucktown in 2005, the chain opened a second location at 1009 N. Rush St. in the Gold Coast neighborhood in 2011.
Though the Bucktown boutique is located just west of the busy Damen Avenue shopping district and "much removed from the high-end shopping of downtown," as one fashion reporter noted, it's still managed to attract a loyal following in the neighborhood.
Scoop NYC's corporate office did not respond to inquiries about the Bucktown location.
Meanwhile, Becker remains on the hunt for what he describes as, "anyone with good credit that wants to do a long term lease."
