There’s already a Ross Dress for Less at Fourth and Market Streets, and now there may be another one just a block away at Fifth and Market Streets, though it’s unclear if Ross is adding a new store or just planning to move.

It may bolster your enthusiasm for the smash-and-grab jilted Union Square area and the sputtering would-be mid-Market renaissance to hear that a major U.S. retailer has plans to take over 40,000 square feet of space and Fifth and Market Streets in downtown San Francisco. Though it may curb your enthusiasm to learn, as the San Francisco Business Times reports, that it’s Ross Dress for Less taking over the current Saks Off Fifth location at 901 Market Street, as there is already a very large Ross Dress for Less just one block away 799 Market Street.

So, not filling a vacancy, but planning to fill one that hasn't occurred yet.

It’s not clear whether Ross Dress for Less is adding a new location one black away, or is relocating  from its Fourth and Market location. But the Business Times points out that “A broker unaffiliated with the deal told me that the current Ross is so busy that for years the company has shown interest in a second San Francisco location to ease some of the pressure.”

The Business Times did not get comment from Ross Dress for Less or the property's owner, Hudson Pacific Properties. But they did get confirmation from Saks Off Fifth that their Fifth and Market Streets store will close “this fall,” and that "Eligible associates will receive appropriate employment separation packages and transfer opportunities will be explored where feasible."

It’s also unclear what’s happening with the Nordstrom Rack in the same building, but Nordstrom Rack’s lease ends in 2024. Both Saks Off Fifth and Nordstrom Rack had a legal dispute with the landlord over unpaid rent during the pandemic.

Turns out Ross Dress for Less is headquartered right here in the Bay Area, in Dublin. And the company has carved out quite a niche by selling discount clothes — as the Business Times notes, Ross Dress for Less has “no e-commerce presence to speak of yet delivers reliable demand through its promise of treasure-hunt style bargains,” and they typically add “about 100 new stores each year.” SFGate points out that there are currently 2,034 Rosss Dress for Less stores in operation.

It’s true that Ross closed it’s Geary Boulevard and 16th Avenue location this past January. But there are still San Francisco Ross Dress for Less stores at the Potrero Center Shopping Plaza on 16th Street, and at the Lakeshore Plaza near Lake Merced.

Related: Anthropologie on Market Street Set to Close In May; Also, Downtown Office Depot [SFist]

Image: Google Street View