The entrance to 1020 G Street NW in March when West Elm still occupied the space. Photo by r.m.b.

We had been hearing whispers that the huge new Forever 21 at 1020 G Street NW would be opening up this weekend. But thanks to an email advertising a sale at the location, we can now confirm that the grand opening for the chain’s first D.C. location will be on Saturday, July 17 at 10 a.m.

The clothing store, which took over the enormous 65,000-square-foot, three-story space after West Elm left in March, is obviously betting that the massive real estate investment will pay off with an increased presence in the D.C. market. (Forever 21’s other area locations, with the exception of a Pentagon City branch, are exclusively beyond the Beltway.) It’s also a promising sign that the Woodward and Lothrop building location — which has a fascinating history and is affectionately called “The Woodies Building” — was snapped up so quickly, considering the financial difficulties that West Elm faced in its two and a half years there. (Then again, the high-end furniture market is a little bit different than Forever 21’s — after all, no matter what shape the economy’s in, people will always need underwear.)

It’s no hammock district, but the addition of Forever 21 really does make the area around Metro Center somewhat of a one-stop shop for bargain fashionistas. Now all we really need is a Uniqlo, and everything will be fine by me.