No, Really, This Time Williamsburg Is Over: Marshalls Moving to Bedford Ave [UPDATE: It's Ugly, Too]

And Williamsburg thought the beer-specializing Duane Reade was bad.

Yet another chain store is bound for the hostile territory of bourgie Bedford Avenue, and it could be the worst arriviste yet, at least in the eye of the Burg’s twee set. That downright suburban discount store, Marshalls, is considering a location in Williamsburg just across the street from the dastardly Duane Reade and it may even bring another big-box pharmacy with it, according to The Real Deal.

One broker said Marshalls was considering taking a small amount on the ground floor and the entire lower level. CVS would take a large amount of the ground floor, a broker said. 

[…]

A major retailer like Marshalls entering the neighborhood could bring along other national chains, said broker Timothy King, a principal at CPEX Real Estate. “Landlords love the traffic and credit rating that is part of the trade, and customers love the price points and selection,” he said.

But Jorge Perez, the store manager at Vice Versa Vintage at 241 Bedford Avenue, said large chains could harm the entrepreneurial environment in Williamsburg. A Marshalls “would ruin that kind of atmosphere. [The chain] is too commercial. If it is a Marshalls, what is next?”

Because the only thing Williamsburg needs more than a Marshalls is another artisanal shoe pickler.

UPDATE: As if things could get any worse, Curbed turned up this rendering of the project in question. It’s about what you’d expect from Williamsburg’s final architectural tradition.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo