Urban Outfitters Inc. is looking to buy another historic building at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. That would expand its already significant footprint there and go against current trends that have many retailers retrenching.

The company, which operates the popular stores Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters, is eying a 75,000-square-foot building and plans to spend millions renovating it once a transaction is completed. If all goes according to plan, the company could begin rehabilitating the space this fall.

The additional building will mean Urban Outfitters will occupy six buildings at the Navy Yard off South Broad Street and a total of roughly 350,000 square feet. It owns four of the five buildings it now fills and has an option to buy the one building it leases.

The company has about 1,200 employees working from its headquarters. When it moved to the Navy Yard in 2004, it had 700 workers. With another building in its portfolio, it anticipates adding more employees.

"We're growing pretty aggressively," said John Kyees, chief financial officer.

In the realm of retail in the recession, Urban Outfitters is holding its own. Total net sales increased by 1 percent to $459 million during its fiscal second quarter that ended July 31, though same store sales were down by 6 percent. Earnings fell to $49 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $57 million, or 33 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Though its net profit dropped by 14 percent, the retailer produced a 17 percent operating profit.

"We're in a pretty unique situation in the retail world," Kyees said, noting the company has $560 million on hand and no debt. "We have lots of growth in front of us, and we're in a great position to grow."

A year ago in July, with the recession well under way, the company evaluated its position and conducted some worst-case scenario financial modeling. The conclusion was "we'd still be making money and generating cash even with a disaster," Kyees said.

They saw an opportunity.

This difficult time is the time to grow. Rents at shopping centers are lower and so are construction costs. During the first six months of the year, the company opened 15 new stores of its three main brands; it plans to open 34 to 36 new stores during the full fiscal year.

The company maintains 148 Urban Outfitters, 127 Anthropologie, 33 Free People and one Terrain store. It envisions Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie eventually having 300 stores each and Free People having 200 stores.

"We don't know what Terrain will be yet," Kyees said.

Terrain is a new concept that Urban Outfitters launched at the former J. Franklin Styer's facility off Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills. The brand focuses on home and garden items and even offers landscape planning. The company also started another apparel concept a year ago in July called Leifsdottir. Those clothes are marketed through high-end stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf.

Each building the company has at the Navy Yard houses one of the brands so they don't cannibalize each other and remain distinct. The new building would provide extra space for one of the brands.

Urban Outfitters made a splash when it relocated it headquarters in 2004 from five separate locations throughout Center City to the Navy Yard. Under terms of that deal, it assumed responsibility for renovations of the buildings, which ran up to about $50 million. The deal was the largest private investment and office transaction at the Navy Yard since the massive redevelopment effort began in 2000.

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) is pleased to have Urban Outfitters as a tenant in The Navy Yard.  The Navy Yard is a 1,200-acre, mixed-use development in South Philadelphia, managed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation with over 7,500 employees and 80 companies.

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a private, not-for-profit corporation, was created in 1958 by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Department of the City of Philadelphia to promote economic development and job creation throughout the City.  PIDC provides financing programs and real estate products to business and developer client groups in all neighborhoods of Philadelphia and is managing the redevelopment of The Navy Yard.

For further information on PIDC's role in The Navy Yard, contact Peter S. Longstreth, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, 2600 Centre Square West, 1500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-2126, phone (215) 496-8181.