Design Within Reach is no longer returning to Philly

East Market just lost out on one of its big-time tenants before it even opened: Design Within Reach is no longer opening a showroom in Philly.

The Inquirer reports that the midcentury modern design store has decided to pull out of its initial agreement to set up a 15,000-square-foot showroom at East Market, a $600 million mixed-use development that is currently under construction. The news comes more than a year after Design Within Reach announced it would reopen a store at 11th and Ludlow that was to be five times the size of its original Walnut Street location.

But an anonymous source from Design Within Reach told the Inquirer that the store backed out after realizing that a “Philly showroom wouldn’t be profitable.”

A spokesperson for East Market and National Real Estate Development told Curbed Philly that it had no comment at this time.

At the time of the March 2016 announcement, Design Within Reach’s president John McPhee said, "We are thrilled to be coming back to this vibrant development in the Philadelphia market.”

It’s not clear what tenant will fill the showroom’s spot.

• Design within Reach scraps plans for big East Market project [Inquirer]