The company that owns the Shawano Plaza, where Kmart will close its doors next month, has been working to find a new tenant — or possibly multiple tenants — to fill the soon-to-be-vacant space, according to Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.
“They said they are working very hard on it,” said Dennis Heling, SCEPI chief economic development officer, who gave an update on the situation Wednesday to the Shawano Common Council.
The store began its liquidation sale on May 4 and will close its doors in mid-July.
The property at 1211 E. Green Bay St. was developed in 1989 and also houses Pick ‘n Save, JC Penney and a number of other tenants. It is owned and managed by Atlanta-based RCG Ventures, LLC, a privately funded real estate investment group that acquires and develops commercial real estate.
The company owns 93 properties in 21 states, including two in Wisconsin, with tenants ranging from small stores to chains as large as Walmart.
Heling said RCG is serious about filling the upcoming vacancy.
“You can imagine as the owner of a property and also managing it, the last thing you want are vacancies,” he said.
Heling said there was some concern about the size of the space that needs to be filled, roughly 87,000 square feet. He said it’s possible that Kmart could be replaced with several new tenants.
“They are probably envisioning that that space will be split in half or maybe even quarters,” Heling said.
Another consideration is the size of the Shawano area market.
“They have to have a prospective tenant that would have a business that would be successful in our size market,” Heling said.
Heling said RCG has had “several good conversations” with prospective tenants, but wasn’t told who they were for reasons of confidentiality.
“They’ve ferreted out as many leads as they can,” Heling said. “They’re reaching out and they’re trying to do everything they can to make sure that that space is filled.”
Meanwhile, the Shawano Job Center recently reached out to the 55 employees expected to lose their jobs in Shawano next month. Some of those employees will have an opportunity to relocate to other stores, according to parent company Sears Holdings.
The Job Center held two work information sessions on May 28. According to Heling, 31 of Kmart’s employees participated in the sessions.
They were given information on unemployment insurance and health care issues, community resources and options for training, Heling said.
The session included representatives from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and the College of Menominee Nation who identified areas where additional training was available if needed.
“There was also a Q&A to help workers understand what their rights would be and what they need to do,” Heling said.