National book retailer Barnes & Noble is returning to downtown D.C. with a new location slated for 16,000 square feet in the historic Woodward & Lothrop flagship department store in Northwest.

Another Barnes & Noble location opened in Georgetown in November. Like the Georgetown store, the new location will have two levels when it opens in October, a company spokesperson told the Washington Business Journal.

Barnes & Noble’s last downtown location, at 555 12th Street NW, closed at the end of 2015 when the owner of that building decided to lease the space to another tenant, according to the Washington City Paper.

The space Barnes & Noble is moving into was occupied by a Zara clothing and fashion accessory store. Another tenant, architecture firm HGA, is also slated to move into the “Woodies” building, according to the WBJ.

Zara left the space just over a year ago, according to local blog PoPville.

Located close to the Metro Center rail station, the former department store has been listed as a District historic landmark since 1964. The Woodward & Lothrop company went bankrupt in the 1990s and all locations closed by the end of 1995.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.