Rendering of the BKX complex planned for the former Macy’s space on Fulton Street.
Photo: Dreamscape
When the Commercial Observer revealed developers’ plans for the former Macy’s space on Fulton Mall, I was both super disappointed and super impressed. Disappointed because the proposed 440,000-square-foot “next-generation cultural and commercial hub” sounds like a retail and entertainment complex better suited to Vegas than Downtown Brooklyn. The tenant mix will include “flagship retailers, entertainment concepts, immersive attractions, food and beverage experiences and next-generation brands seeking a highly visible urban presence,” plus a fitness or wellness facility. Meanwhile, the five-story atrium with its giant LED screens will “draw people in whether they want to shop or play or create Instagrammable moments.” The plan is brought to us in part by Dreamscape, the same company behind Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport, the Rio Las Vegas hotel and casino, and the Arcade shopping complex in Nashville. (It’s also partnering with ICrave, a company involved in the Vegas Sphere and a Times Square experiential tower).
But I was impressed when I remembered a story I wrote back when Macy’s was closing in February 2025. The developers, I realized, are giving Downtown Brooklyn shoppers exactly what they said they wanted.
I’d spent a couple afternoons at the ghostly liquidation sale, mainly to check out the scene and see what people were buying (luggage, jeans, and exfoliating socks, as it happens). But I was also curious to hear what people wanted to see replace the department store, which they claimed to have loved but apparently never patronized (the failing location accounted for 25 percent of Macy’s retail square footage but only 10 percent of its sales, according to the Observer).
The former Macy’s during its February 2025 liquidation sale.
Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg/Getty Images
As I reported on my blog at the time, a few of the shoppers I surveyed told me they wanted a department store similar to the old Macy’s — preferably a new Macy’s! But most said they didn’t need more places to shop; isn’t that what the internet is for? What they really wanted was something fun to do.
“Maybe a kids’ space — a cheap kids’ space,” said Lisa, a project manager from Kensington. “Just activities for kids to jump around. Trampolines.”
“Five stories of trampolines!” I suggested.
“The kids would love that,” she agreed.
Thomas, who lived in Dumbo and was browsing the menswear department, envisioned a giant nightclub: “Like Danceteria back in the day. It was a different theme on each floor. Fantastic. You’d get off the elevator and everything would be blue, blue lights. And another floor — disco lighting!”
“A casino! Boom!” said an unhoused man roaming the store. “Someplace you can go to get a manicure and a pedicure. A spa with a swimming pool and a nice restaurant, something upscale,” said Darlene, a Bed-Stuy cop. Two people wanted a movie theater. Angie, a home-health aid, wanted a wellness center where ladies could easily get a mammogram or colonoscopy.
“There’s so much stuff we’re missing,” said Tommy, a young man shopping for a belt. “Hands-on stuff. Get the kids interacting, off their phones. Dart games. All types of water games. Right now, Coney Island is the only water games you have. A little Coney Island this side of town? It’d be awesome!”
“Little Coney Island” is a stretch. But the mix the developers proposed does sound like everything the liquidation shoppers were dreaming of — all smushed together into one big “magnet for locals and tourists alike.” In its marketing brochure, Dreamspace says the complex, which is the largest block of retail space available anywhere in New York City, will “define Brooklyn’s next chapter.” For some, it seems, that’s a wonderful thing.
