As Burlington Stores Inc. continues to downsize to a smaller store prototype, the off-price retailer appears to be looking at a second, reduced-sized Mandarin store.
The city is reviewing a permit for Kimco Realty to start landlord work within a 27,744-square-foot space in the Unit 1 end space at Riverplace Shopping Center at 11111 San Jose Blvd., south of Interstate 295.
Burlington now leases a 58,124-square-foot store at Old St. Augustine Plaza, No. 119, at northwest I-295 and Old St. Augustine Road, where Regency Centers is the landlord. The two stores are about 3.2 miles apart.
The work to prepare the space for future build-out is estimated at a project cost of $350,000. Plans refer to it as “Burlington @ River Place Shopping Center.”
The work involves interior demolition and the replacement of the exterior facade and canopy with a new design for a future tenant. There also would be sidewalk demolition under the new canopy for new footings.
A Kimco site plan shows that “this 28,020 square foot retail space at Riverplace S.C. is available for lease.”
Kimco Realty Senior Vice President David Bujnicki referred questions to Burlington.
“Due to tenant confidentiality, we cannot provide this information,” Bujnicki said June 25 by email.
Burlington representative Morgan Williams responded June 29 by email. “There’s currently not a grand opening date scheduled for this new store. I’ll likely have more information later this year closer to 2027,” Williams said. “There are no current plans to close the Old St. Augustine Plaza store.”
Regency Centers Communications Director Eric Davidson said by email June 25 that Burlington is not leaving Old St. Augustine Plaza as far as Regency knows and suggested the Riverplace project might be a another location for the retailer.
Burlington Stores has seven stores in the area. In addition to Old St. Augustine Plaza, its six other area stores are in Argyle Village Shopping Center, Gateway Town Center, Regency Plaza, River City Marketplace, St. Johns Town Center and Saint Johns.
Burlington sells clothing, accessories and footwear for men, women, juniors and children; baby items; beauty and fragrance products; home decor; toys; and pet care.
Originally known as a coat retailer, Burlington expanded to offer branded merchandise at up to 60% off other retailers’ prices, it says.
Burlington Stores has been opening stores that feature what it calls its “reimagined store design,” which is part of its strategy to modernize stores to include wider, more organized aisles and stronger signage for easier navigation.
It has said that while more than half of its existing locations have been converted, the remaining stores are expected to transition by the end of 2026.
Burlington is downsizing its Regency Plaza store by two-thirds, creating space for two more retailers, including AutoZone.
The nearly 81,000-square-foot Burlington store was split, leaving the retailer with 27,308 square feet of space.
As of Jan. 31, 2026, the end of its fiscal year 2025, the company said it operated 1,212 stores in 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, principally under the name Burlington Stores.
While some stores are larger, such as the Town Center location, at 35,367 square feet in a renovated Joann Inc. space, Burlington says on burlington.com that its preferred size now ranges from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet.
Its newer area stores are in the 24,000- to 25,000-square-foot range.
New Jersey-based Burlington Stores says in an investor presentation dated May 2025 that its Burlington 2.0 goals include smaller stores.
Trade website CREDaily.com reported Jan. 31, 2025, that Burlington is cutting store sizes by nearly 80%, “opting for smaller locations that focus on offering customers a ‘treasure-hunt’ shopping experience at low prices.”
The site said that with an aggressive expansion strategy to open 400 net new stores over the next four years, Burlington is competing with larger rivals, like Ross Stores and TJX Cos., whose banners include T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
The site says that at Burlington’s newer locations, “the days of sprawling, cluttered big-box stores are over.”
It reported that a typical new Burlington store now spans just 18,000 square feet, less than 20% the size of its old locations.
“In this revamped format, merchandise is neatly arranged, and customers can more easily navigate aisles to find bargains.”