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One Large Retail Vacancy Filled, Another Waiting
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One Large Retail Vacancy Filled, Another Waiting
Mall Anchor Foreclosed as Marshalls Heads to Former Circuit City
By Linda Fridy
Discount merchandiser Marshalls will be moving into the former Circuit City location near Dominican Hospital, while the former Gottschalks building in Capitola changed hands.
After it sat vacant for nearly a year, Gottschalks building owner Jack Baskin let the property fall into foreclosure.
A foreclosure auction for the two-story pink building in the Capitola Mall was held on July 13, but drew no bidders. Its future may be determined after a call for bids by the lender.
Commercial property firm CB Richard Ellis had a deadline of June 11 for bids on the Gottschalks property.
Broker Trevor Thorpe said he is bound by a confidentiality agreement and could not comment on the next steps of the process.
In the meantime, a lawsuit filed July 12 indicated that mall operator Macerich — who owns the main section of the mall including Chilis but not Kohl's or Sears — was interested in purchasing the building. Macerich claims to have an agreement from the previous mall owners and the owner prior to Baskin.
Macerich's attorney and company officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"Due to legal reasons, at this time we cannot expand on the current situation other than say that we look forward to sharing news of new retailers at Capitola Mall with you just as soon as final agreements have been made. We continue to work to evolve and perfect Capitola Mall and bring the retailers and offerings the community wants and deserves," said Chuck Davis, vice president of development for Macerich, by email.
The 107,000-square-foot building had been owned by local investor Baskin, but loan payments were made by the store's rent. That ended last summer when the 105-year-old Gottchalks' chain closed after declaring bankruptcy.
The search for a new tenant included the city of Capitola offering to work with discount retailer Target and purchase the property with redevelopment money to help entice the discounter to open its second Santa Cruz County location.
A tenant in that spot would boost the city's sales tax income and add jobs.
Kohl's bought many former Mervyn's sites, including the one in Capitola, which opened last September. Store management has reported that sales exceeded expectations during its opening.
Marshalls Gets Use Permit
A few miles away, another vacant property will soon be home to a new retailer as Marshalls prepares to move next to Toys R Us.
This spring Craig French of Redtree Poperties said he hoped the new tenant would be in by the end of the year, although it has not begun the building permit process. Marshalls received a use permit on May 24, according the county Planning Department.
The 28,500-square-foot store has been empty since the Circuit City electronics chain declared bankruptcy in early 2009. Filling the spot will help sales tax revenue for the county, as the store is located in the unincorporated community of Live Oak.
The new store will be the chain's first in Santa Cruz County. Currently there are several Marshalls in Santa Clara County, including Campbell, and in Salinas.
Marshalls specializes in discounting current season designer and name-brand clothing, household items and more.
Its competitor Ross has three county locations.
Marshalls has a reputation for carrying higher-end labels. It buys from both designers and retailers excess stock and prices the merchandise at a significant discount from full retail.
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