Downsized Burlington in Garden City makes room for Floor & Decor
Burlington Coat Factory in Garden City has been reduced in size, which will allow Floor and Decor to move in beside it. A $15 million redevelopment of the shopping center is under way. Credit: Reece T. Williams
Off-price department store Burlington shrunk in Garden City. The store’s reduction in size, which was completed over the summer, will help allow for the entrance of a large Floor & Decor store that will open in Stewart Plaza beside Burlington next year.
The construction work at Stewart Plaza, located at 650 Stewart Ave., is taking place as part of a $15 million remodeling of the shopping center that will include a new facade and signage, as well as parking lot upgrades and new LED lights, according to Brixmor Property Group, the Manhattan-based company that owns the shopping center.
"The remodeled center facades are currently underway. We started construction in September 2020 and should be finished by year-end," said Kristen Moore, a spokeswoman for Brixmor.
Built around 1990, Stewart Plaza is about 205,000 square feet and the shopping center’s current tenants include European Wax Center, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Dollar Tree and Sally Beauty.
The Burlington, which has been in Stewart Plaza since 2000, was reduced in size from 83,823 square feet to 64,570 square feet over the summer.
"This new clean design allows for a smooth shopping experience so that customers can discover the great brand merchandise for the entire family and home," a spokeswoman for Burlington said.
Floor & Decor, which will occupy 74,794 square feet in Stewart Plaza, is slated to open in the first half of 2022, Moore said. Besides the slice taken from Burlington the store’s parcel was created from a former K&G Fashion Superstore, discount retailer Jembro, a card store and a vacancy, she has said.
Floor & Decor, an Atlanta-based retailer of hard-surface flooring, declined to comment on its planned Garden City store, aside from saying it will be its fourth on Long Island.
The flooring retailer entered the New York state market in 2018 with a Long Island store, which is in Farmingdale, and added two more local stores — in Commack and Bohemia — this year.
Floor & Decor operated 153 warehouse stores, averaging 78,000 square feet in size, and two design studios in 33 states as of Sept. 30.
Burlington Stores Inc. has been working to reduce its average store size for several years. In fiscal 2020, the average size of new Burlington stores was 40,000 square feet, compared with 43,000 square feet in 2018.
On Friday, Burlington opened its eighth store on Long Island in a 32,000-square-foot space in Farmingville.
In June, Burlington relocated its Patchogue store 2.4 miles to a smaller space — from a two-level, 55,000-square-foot space on East Main Street to a 22,925-square-foot space on Sunrise Highway.
Having smaller stores improves efficiency and gives Burlington more real estate options for new locations, according to the Burlington, New Jersey-based retailer.
"Going forward, Burlington store locations will total 25,000 square feet, bringing great value on a variety of brand name merchandise for the entire family and home," the Burlington spokeswoman told Newsday last week.
Burlington operated 792 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico as of July 31.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.