I remember my dad telling me about the Meier & Frank department store in downtown Portland, Oregon. He used to sell store fixtures to the 13-story landmark. It was the kind of place that was going out of style, he said. Customers didn’t like using so many escalators and elevators, he said, and the place was showing its age.

I visited the store once in the late ’70s and shared his sentiments, although I was impressed to see what a downtown department store looked like vs. the suburban ones I grew up with. Even though Meier & Frank was outdated, it still had its loyal customers. And the classic building it was in really left an impression on me.

Macy’s acquired Meier & Frank and its downtown landmark last year, according to The Oregonian. I did a double-take when reading that Macy’s spent more than $100 million on renovations, with the first-phase reopening scheduled for this Friday. But that’s what Macy’s and other developers are spending to make the building a downtown destination. There’ll be a hotel on the upper floors, a rooftop lounge, a restaurant—all the things that are drawing younger, more urbane shoppers to other downtowns such as San Diego, Boston and Chicago.

The revamped department store will have just five floors of sales space, each with a layout that makes it seem roomier. Macy’s designers must have done their research, because that’s the kind of style today’s retail shoppers appreciate in a department store.

“Modern nostalgia” is the style of the new hotel, its owner says. I like that description. I think it could apply to the entire building as well. I wish Macy’s all the best. The next time I’m in Portland, I’ll be checking the building out for great design ideas.