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In downtown Seattle, Unico Properties Inc. wants to turn a stretch of Fifth Avenue near the Fairmont Olympic Hotel into a luxury shopping Mecca similar to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Significant expansions by retailers Louis Vuitton and Brooks Brothers are behind Unico's drive to rebrand the stretch of Fifth Avenue between University and Union streets as "Upper Fifth" by using street banners and other marketing.
Louis Vuitton plans to double in size to more than 3,200 square feet by expanding into an adjacent space, while Brooks Brothers will more than triple in size, to 15,000 square feet, when it moves into the former Eddie Bauer flagship store across the street.
"What we're trying to do is re-establish the Metropolitan Tract as the five-star location for all the different food groups - retail entertainment, commercial office, hotel and residential," said Unico chief executive Dale Sperling. "This is...