"They've established a position and can now come out and do it on their own," surmised Steve Neville of New & Neville, a local retail brokerage firm that runs with several national players, though not this one. "It's a natural evolution for some of the more successful retailers."

Of the location, Neville says although downtowns can be hit or miss – "there is such a thing as being a block on and a black off," he says – certain corridors have proven successful, and Neville believes the space Williams-Sonoma is taking is one of them.

Parent company Williams Sonoma Inc. is doing more than just moving its nameplate store out of Pioneer Place, however. It's taking its Pottery Barn and Hold Everything brands out as well -- though not replacing them elsewhere -- opening up around 10,800 sf in Pioneer Place. Scribner's also recent vacated the indoor mall owned by The Rouse Co.

"It offers an interesting opportunity for someone," says Neville. "The Rouse project is continually successful, and there's always specialty retailers moving in and out of downtown."

Indeed, shortly after the news of Williams-Sonoma's leaving began spreading, Pioneer Place revealed it is backfilling the space the watch company Fossil, Waldenbooks and International Toys. Moreover, the company tells GlobeSt several tenants will expand or remodel their spaces this year, including Express, Body Shop, J. Crew, Gymboree, Sharper Image and Victoria's Secret.

Meanwhile, in the brand new expansion of Pioneer Place across the skywalk, Rouse Co.'s prime top-floor space is a stagnant, 60%-completed Sundance Theater. It was scheduled to be completed last June, but has lain fallow since the Robert Redford venture's money partner general Cinema declared bankruptcy. Sources at Pioneer Place tell GlobeSt it still hopes to work out an agreement that will revive the Sundance project or bring in a different movie theater operator, not that any are in very good health at the moment.

All told, both Pioneer Place buildings – as well as the ground-floor retail space beneath the Pioneer Place Parking Garage -- are approximately 94% leased.