If you attended Fashion’s Night Out at The Shops at The Bravern, it was apparent that Bellevue’s fashion-conscious population views The Bravern as the local couture hub. Patrons were celebrating, drinking champagne and entering contests at many retailers, and most of them were taking the opportunity to shop fall’s hottest trends.
Fashion is not the only thing to celebrate as The Bravern embarks on its 2-year anniversary. The luxury complex has put together a whole host of community events that bring people of all ages together. These events have included Fashion’s Night Out, Hermés Festival of Crafts, Bellevue Holiday Tradition, Sips & Sounds Happy Hour, and Little Bookworms Story Time. Many of these events have included a charitable partner, giving back to local organizations that are in need of help.
As The Bravern celebrates its 2nd anniversary this month, it’s seeing positive growth in sales and even some new tenants arriving.
Update on Business at The Bravern
The 1st half of this year has proved to be a strong one for The Shops at The Bravern. Same-store sales saw an increase of 15%, year-over-year (some stores saw a triple digit increase compared to last years results). In May of this year, Neiman Marcus saw the biggest year-over-year increase in the franchise’s 41-store chain. At Fashion’s Night Out, the 2 Neiman Marcus fashion shows were the 2 of the most attended events throughout the evening; people were standing on their toes just to get a peek at the runway, behind several rows of seated guests. Neiman’s certainly drew a crowd that night.
The Shops at The Bravern, which opened on September 11th in 2009, launched with an exceptional rate of 85% of its retail space leased. Throughout the ups and downs of the economy that we’ve seen the last 2 years, The Bravern has been able to sustain their retail occupancy of 85%. The Shops at The Bravern have 10 additional spaces available for new shops and/or restaurants in the future.
Since The Bravern Signature Residence Apartment Homes have fully transitioned to apartments in both towers, the leasing has been full steam ahead. The homes are now 75% leased and are expected to be fully occupied by January 2012, according a recent interview with Jeff Harmer of Schnitzer West.
Just as we had speculated in the past, Blue Martini is set to arrive at The Bravern later this year, as confirmed by The Bravern this week. The premiere martini lounge will add yet another dynamic tenant to The Shops at The Bravern. It’s expected to have an array of specialty martinis, wine and champagne, light fare, and live entertainment.
