NEW YORK CITY-Luxury retailer Barneys reports it will return to Chelsea in 2017, taking space now occupied by discount retailer Loehmann's, which recently filed for bankruptcy.

Barneys plans to open a 57,000-square-foot store in three years at its original Chelsea location at 101 Seventh Ave. The store will feature five floors of retail space, according to the Commercial Observer. Barneys is leasing the space from Equity One.

“Today's announcement represents the realization of our long-standing goal of returning to downtown with a substantial location,” states Mark Lee, chief executive of Barneys New York. “The opportunity to revitalize our presence with a state-of-the-art store on the same street where the company served customers for 75 years only enhances that plan. We believe the robust and growing downtown market is under penetrated in terms of a larger specialty retailer, and we look forward to serving these customers again with what we anticipate will be one of our most important stores.”

The New York City-based law firm Paul Hastings LLP advised Barneys on its lease agreement at 101 Seventh Ave. Real estate partner David Brooks led the Paul Hastings team.

Barneys began operations in Chelsea in 1923. It opened its Madison Avenue flagship store in 1993 and closed the Seventh Avenue branch four years later. See story in the Commercial Observer.