A big empty storefront at Springfield Plaza looks like it won't stay empty much longer. Ross Dress for Less is expected to move into the roughly 28,000-square-foot space once occupied by BuyBuy Baby, according to the Washington Business Journal, whose managing editor Michael Neibauer reported the planned move for the shopping center on Old Keene Mill Road.
The space has sat dark since BuyBuy Baby closed its Springfield store, which was the last location the chain operated anywhere in Virginia. BuyBuy Baby's parent announced it was shuttering all of its physical stores nationwide and pivoting to an online-only business, according to Patch, which reported that gift cards would be honored at all locations through Oct. 31. The Springfield store sat at 6398 Springfield Plaza, the only address of its kind left in the Commonwealth by the time the closure was announced.
A Sprawling Shopping Center Off Old Keene Mill Road
Springfield Plaza itself is no small strip mall. The center spans 260,879 square feet at 7206 Old Keene Mill Road, according to a property listing from Rappaport. Its current anchors include Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, CVS Pharmacy and Big Blue Swim, with a 60,000-square-foot Giant Food serving as a shadow anchor alongside the space BuyBuy Baby used to occupy, per the same listing. A separate listing from PropertyShark identifies BuyBuy Baby specifically as one of the center's shadow anchors, alongside Giant and Trader Joe's.
The plaza's draw for a retailer like Ross comes down to raw numbers. PropertyShark's listing points to daily traffic volumes surpassing 40,000 vehicles and a residential population of more than 110,000 people within a three-mile radius of the center. A listing from CommercialSearch separately shows one retail space currently available for lease at Springfield Plaza, totaling 12,000 square feet, though the specific footprint tied to any Ross buildout was not detailed in that listing.
BuyBuy Baby's Collapse and Uncertain Comeback
BuyBuy Baby's exit from brick-and-mortar retail traces back to the bankruptcy of its parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond, which sold the BuyBuy Baby brand and trademark rights to Dream On Me Industries for $15.5 million, Patch reported. Dream On Me has floated an ambitious comeback for the baby-gear chain, saying it believes 100 to 120 stores could be operating again within one to three years, according to a separate Patch report. Whether that rebound ever reaches Springfield Plaza remains to be seen.
Ross Rides a Wave of Expansion
If Ross does land in the former BuyBuy Baby box, it would be stepping into Springfield amid a broad national growth push. The company forecast annual sales above Wall Street estimates earlier this year, citing resilient demand for discounted apparel and accessories, according to Reuters. Comparable sales rose 9% in the holiday quarter, Reuters reported, far outpacing analysts' estimate of a 4.03% rise, and the company has guided toward annual same-store sales growth of 3% to 4% alongside a new $2.55 billion share buyback program for fiscal 2026 and 2027.
That momentum has only built since. Ross reported that comparable sales jumped 10% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, with total quarterly sales up 13% to $6.3 billion, according to Retail Dive. That growth outpaced rival TJX's Marmaxx division, which posted a comparatively weak 1% comp increase in the same stretch, the outlet reported. Ross has since raised its 2026 store-opening target from about 110 new locations to 115, per Retail Dive.
Those openings follow a year in which Ross added 90 new locations, and the chain had initially targeted 110 stores for 2026, split between roughly 85 Ross locations and 25 DD's Discounts stores, according to USA Today. Company leadership has said it sees a long-term path to 2,900 Ross locations and 700 DD's Discounts stores nationwide, the paper reported.
A Familiar Playbook: Converting Former BuyBuy Baby Boxes
Springfield wouldn't be the only place where Ross is stepping into a space the baby-goods chain left behind. In San Antonio, Ross is set up to take over a former BuyBuy Baby location at 522 NW Loop 410, Suite 108, which closed in 2023, according to My Neighborhood News. That project, a 29,239-square-foot buildout estimated at $1.2 million in privately funded work, began remodeling in February with a planned opening in June, the outlet reported, and would join roughly 20 existing Ross stores already operating in the San Antonio area.
No lease, zoning approval or opening timeline for the Springfield Plaza project has been confirmed publicly. What is clear is that Ross continues to expand aggressively even as it competes with TJX, Burlington Stores, fast-fashion players like Shein and online giant Amazon, according to Reuters. For now, Springfield Plaza's largest vacancy remains just that — a vacancy, with a familiar off-price retailer reportedly circling.
