With Sears closing, the Orange Park Mall is working to reuse the space.
Mall owner Washington Prime Group “is working closely with Sears and other stakeholders regarding future redevelopment opportunities for the Sears space,” mall General Manager Randy Bowman said Feb. 17 by email.
“Washington Prime Group is committed to making further investments in Orange Park Mall and maintaining its longstanding presence as the gathering place to eat, shop and play in the Orange Park area,” Bowman said.
USAToday.com reported that the Orange Park Mall location will be among the Sears and Kmart stores slated to close in the next few months. A “store closing” banner is up over the west entrance. Store closing signs also are up inside the store saying “Everything at least 10% to 40% off lowest ticketed price.”
Sears spokesman Larry Costello said in an email Feb. 17 the company had no comment.
USA Today said Sears and Kmart have closed more than 3,500 stores and cut about 250,000 jobs in the past 15 years. It said the closings do not affect the company’s Sears Hometown stores, which specialize in home appliances, equipment and tools.
Sears operated three department stores in Northeast Florida. It also operates a Sears Outlet store at 11111 San Jose Blvd.
It closed The Avenues mall store in December and the Regency Square Mall store in July 2016.
Chicago-based Sears Holdings Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018.
Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert owns Transform Holdco LLC, the parent company of Sears and Kmart.
He won a bid to buy the Sears Holding Corp. assets, including the stores in Orange Park and Regency. He bought them in February 2019.
Both are about 200,000 square feet.
Through TF Orange Pk LLC, Lampert paid $7.7 million for the 18-acre Orange Park Mall Sears site built in 1975.
TF Jacksonville FL LLC paid $4.1 million for the Regency store on 18.35 acres at 9501 Arlington Expressway. It was built in 1981.
The Avison Young commercial real estate company lists the Regency store for sale.
Sears leased at The Avenues mall at 10300 Southside Blvd. since the mall opened in 1990.
