Work continues to subdivide the Burlington store in Regency Plaza in Arlington into three spaces – one for a smaller Burlington, one for a new AutoZone and another for a future retailer.
Burlington, a big-box off-price retailer that sells apparel, decor and other merchandise, has long leased about 81,000 square feet of space in the shopping center at 9824 Atlantic Blvd. at southeast Atlantic Boulevard and Live Oak Drive near Regency Square Mall.
The retailer already has apparently downsized into almost 50,000 square feet, freeing up space for AutoZone.
In the latest move, the city issued a permit Feb. 27 for the landlord to divide the 49,733-square-foot Burlington into 27,308 square feet for the retailer and 22,425 square feet for a future tenant.
Able Construction Inc. of Jacksonville is the contractor for the $2.4 million project.
The city is reviewing a permit for Burlington to build-out its eventual smaller store at a cost of $1.1 million.
Also, the city is reviewing an application for AutoZone to build-out 31,460 square feet at an estimated project cost of $1.4 million.
The Feb. 27 permit included the demolition of the existing entry canopy, the addition of new canopies, an entry and an interior wall to divide the remaining 49,733-square-foot Burlington space.
Six sign permits for Burlington also are in review, including a banner that says “We’re remodeling Come take a peek.”
A permanent sign on the store would say “Burlington Deals. Brands. Wow!”
Because Burlington is remaining at the center, it intends to continue operating throughout the construction process.
A Regency Plaza leasing brochure by CBRE Retail Specialist Lara Bahri Higgs shows the spaces in round numbers with Burlington down to 28,000 square feet, a third of its original size.
The brochure shows available square footage at 22,500 and the AutoZone store, although not identified by that name. That space is shown as a 30,000-square-foot tenant in negotiation.
No timetable was included.
The construction plans show the Regency Plaza landlord as America’s Realty LLC of Maple Heights, Ohio. The project manager is Onyx Creative of Cleveland.
The 210,000-square-foot Regency Plaza is anchored by OfficeMax, Chuck E. Cheese and dd’s Discounts.
Burlington Stores Inc., headquartered in New Jersey, has six area stores in Gateway Town Center, Argyle Village Shopping Center, Regency Plaza, Old St Augustine Plaza, River City Marketplace and Saint Johns.
It’s all about strategy
The downsizing is expected. Burlington says on burlington.com that its preferred size ranges from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet.
Its newer area stores are in the 24,000- to 25,000-square-foot range.
Burlington 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.”