M Street will be blooming with business with the future addition of Bloomingdale’s department store to The Shops at Georgetown Park Mall.

The new store, set to open in August 2011, will be the first formal department store to hit Georgetown, which is currently home to more than 200 retail stores, according to the Georgetown Business Improvement District’s Web site.

The addition of Bloomingdale’s is part of a larger redevelopment plan for The Shops.

While The Shops currently feature many upscale retailers, Bloomingdale’s will be the first department store of its kind in the area.

Established in 1872, Bloomingdale’s is a full-line, upscale department store with more than 40 locations nationwide. It is a division of Macy’s, Inc., which operates more than 850 retail stores across the country.

“Bloomingdale’s is not really a traditional department store,” a spokeswoman for Macy’s said. “The new development that Georgetown Park is [going] to be redesigned as a high-end urban fashion destination sinks in with the Bloomingdale’s department store. It’s a tremendous opportunity for us and we’re very excited.”

odeled after the Bloomingdale’s in New York City’s SoHo district, the new store will occupy more than 82,000 square feet with three levels and will be the first of its kind outside of the Manhattan area.

“The merchandise is highly edited and tailored very much to the local market – contemporary, high-end fashion customers in D.C.,” the spokeswoman said. “The store will only feature merchandise for men and women; no home merchandise.”

“We are very excited about bringing the SoHo store concept to new locations,” Michael Gould, Bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a press release. “We believe that Bloomingdale’s distinctive assortments and personalized service will be welcomed in these new venues that are so ideally matched to the Bloomingdale’s customer.”

While most current Georgetown students will have graduated by the time the addition is completed, freshmen are excited about the new shopping options on M Street.

“I think a Bloomingdale’s could be a nice addition to the Georgetown Mall,” Kristen Focella (MSB ’12) said. “It seems like it will fit well with the other shops that are already there and add a new option for Georgetown Mall shoppers.”

Until now, Georgetown students have been forced to ride the Metro or take a taxi to travel to malls such as The Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville, Md., and the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Va., for many of their purchases. When the remodeling is complete, students will have the opportunity to shop for trendy clothing at a much closer location.

While many students are excited about the new store, some are concerned about the traffic the new construction project may cause.

“I’m sort of an occasional mall person, if you will, so I don’t have any strong feelings about this particular renovation,” Katrina Braun (COL ’12) said. “In general, though, most renovations I’ve seen tend to be more inconvenient than the final result is worth.”

Western Development Corp., the Washington-based firm that owns The Shops, could not be reached for comment.

“