Before the downtown Neiman Marcus closed for good last month, its owner had asked the City of Dallas for $126 million to help keep the flagship store open and remake the building, according to newly released public records first reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Saks Global's pitch, as described in the records, priced the full project at $195 million. Besides the city money, the company sought $24 million in historic tax credits, The Real Deal reported, summarizing the Morning News findings.
What Saks proposed
The plan would have renovated the store at 1618 Main Street, bringing the Zodiac Room restaurant down to street level and converting the upper seven floors into offices for fashion designers. Customers shopping the lower two levels would have tried on clothes created by the designers working above them, according to the reports. Saks made the pitch more than a year before the store shut.
In its presentation, the company said the incentives were necessary for keeping the store open to remain financially viable.
Where it stopped
City economic development staff told the Morning News the city set Saks' application aside after the company sought Chapter 11 protection in January. Saks filed after missing a $100 million interest payment, according to The Real Deal.
