With Macy’s located at 450 Washington St. in Boston’s Downtown Crossing and Filenes occupying space at nearby 426 Washington St., some real estate watchers speculate that a rumored merger of the two companies could lead to the closure of one of the stores.

They anchor the diverse and sometimes-struggling retail market in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, but if the company that owns Macy’s acquires the company that owns Filenes, as has been rumored in newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, it could mean doom for one of the two downtown department stores and the possibility of a big, dark space at the corner of Washington and Summer streets.

The speculation – The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 20 that Federated Department Stores, the owner of Macy’s, was negotiating to buy May Department Stores Co., the owner of Filenes – is still unsubstantiated and, in the meantime, the commercial real estate market in Downtown Crossing is chugging along. But if the merger does happen, the biggest impact will be in areas where stores like Filenes and Macy’s are close to each other, as is the case in Downtown Crossing.

“You’re not going to get as close as these,” said Mark Browne of Browne Realty Advisors. “What do they do with two stores? It’s certainly an interesting story.”

Macy’s is located at 450 Washington St. and Filenes occupies space at nearby 426 Washington St.

The May Department Stores Co. has been struggling with disappointing sales and profits for about four years, according to the Associated Press. The company’s chief executive officer and chairman Gene Kahn resigned shortly before the report, and since the revelation of negotiations, the company’s shares have gained.

But even if the buyout does come to pass, Downtown Crossing – and whichever building might possibly be left empty in the aftermath – will recover, Browne said. The owner of either building could redevelop it into a hotel, a mixed-use project, smaller retail space or another department store, like Target, he said.

“Change is good,” Browne said.

But if either building is vacant for long, it could be tough for retail and other commercial real estate in the rest of the area, said Rosalind Gorin, president of H.N. Gorin, a Boston landlord, who owns 55 Summer St. across from Macy’s building.

“One of those stores being dark would be a big negative to Downtown Crossing,” she said.

The market in Downtown Crossing has been good lately, according to Browne. Vacancy rates are relatively low and, although the retailers often change, brokers don’t have a hard time filling many vacant spots.

“What is available won’t be for long,” Browne said. “There’s always someone to take the place of someone whose concept is tired.”

The area, however, still faces its share of struggles.

There are vacant storefronts along Washington Street south of Macy’s and small Winter Street businesses come and go often. A Wet Seal there just shut its doors and HMV, the music store, recently closed its store there, along with many of its other stores in the region. Winter Street is like a pedestrian superhighway, said broker Joseph Levanto of Schaffer & Assoc. Thousands of people walk the major commuter thoroughfare every day to get to work in the Financial District or reach the subway, but relatively few stop to shop. The street is often home to cell phone and T-shirt stores.

“There are just a bunch [of vacancies] scattered throughout [Downtown Crossing],” he said.

There are vacancies in the long-struggling Lafayette Center, which is next to Macy’s. The building was redeveloped in the late 1990s, and since then many storefronts have stood vacant.

But Anne Meyers, president of the Downtown Crossing Association, said she has heard rumors that new restaurants may be moving into the area around the Lafayette. And since the Opera House opened nearby, there have been more pedestrians in the area, she said.

Many new residents are also moving to the area as more apartments are constructed. The association is working to make sure the new residents use the shops in Downtown Crossing, Meyers said.

“There are new people coming in,” Meyers said.

Indeed, some retailers are taking a chance. Rents – which are always high in most of Downtown Crossing – go down south of Macy’s, an area that in the past had failed to attract large retailers. But the area now is seeing new activity. One new clothing store, Expressions, recently opened next to the Eddie Bauer outlet on Washington Street, in the Lafayette Center. That space had been vacant since the building was redeveloped. A new Staples recently opened on Winter Street and Long Jewelers came back downtown with a new store on Summer Street.

“Those are major new businesses,” Meyers said. “In terms of things opening [it’s been good].”

‘Highest Rents’

Despite some struggles on the south side of the neighborhood, the north end of Washington Street, closer to City Hall, continues to flourish. The area is cleaner and brighter than the area south of the department stores and rents there are high. In the stretch between Macy’s, Filenes and City Hall, rents can range from $100 to $175 per square foot, according to Levanto.

“Some of the highest rents in New England are there,” he said.

That side of the neighborhood is home to several fashionable chains, like Pink. Borders has a store on Washington Street. The Body Shop and H & M also have stores there. The building at 350 Washington St. that houses H & M, TJ Maxx and Marshalls is fully leased, according to Emily Ou of Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate firm that brokered the sale the property.

That area is generally clean, but the association is also trying to combat Downtown Crossing’s trash problem. The masses of people who visit there every day leave their mark, with cigarette butts and empty coffee cups often sitting in the gutters of Washington, Summer and Winter streets. Property owners and retailers there have tried to get the area designated as a business improvement district, where property owners would tax themselves and use the money to do maintenance work. The idea died on the vine, but the Downtown Crossing Association has hired a company to clean the area five days a week. The Boston Redevelopment Authority, Filenes and Wendy’s are paying for the cleanup, Meyers said.

The group also is working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority to start a downtown economic improvement initiative. Mayor Thomas Menino came to the Downtown Crossing Association’s annual meeting to help kick it off. The improvement initiative doesn’t yet have a specific focus, but will likely work with retailers to improve signs and will try to work with Winter Street businesses to get the omnipresent sandwich boards off the sidewalks.

The commercial real estate scene in Downtown Crossing will likely stay the same, barring a possible merger of the department stores, some brokers said. The area was headed in the right direction several years ago, but needs more diverse stores, Levanto said. The association is addressing that with a survey of businesses there that will seek to identify other forms of retail that could find a successful niche there. But until then, the market will probably stay much as it is today.

“It’s probably going to go sideways for awhile,” Levanto said.

There has been no word on whether negotiations for the merger of the companies that own Filenes and Macy’s are ongoing.