FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) West Acres mall officials confirm that the Herberger’s store in Fargo will be closing.
The parent company of Herberger’s stores has announced plans for going-out-of-business sales.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge is expected to decide today on the acquisition of the Bon-Ton stores chain.
If approved, a joint venture group would acquire the inventory and other assets of Bon-Ton and the the company could go ahead with closing as many as 200 stores nationwide.
Bon-Ton filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 restructuring bankruptcy in February.
Statement from West Acres:
Department Store chain Bon-Ton will be heading to liquidation. West Acres Herberger’s will be one of the more than 200 stores across the country to close.
The timeline of the liquidation process and the ultimate store closing date is unknown at this point.
As is common with department stores across the country, Herberger’s land and building are not owned by West Acres Development, LLP.
Herberger’s at West Acres is owned by W.P. Carey who purchased the store, along with 5 other Herberger’s locations, from Bon-Ton in June, 2015 as part of a sale/lease back transaction. The store has continued to operate as Herberger’s but as a tenant of W.P. Carey.
Once Herberger’s closes, future development of the site will be done by W.P. Carey.
“We will work with W.P. Carey on the redevelopment of Herberger’s, with future plans for the site ultimately in their control. W.P Carey has industry knowledge, and we are confident that they will find a strong tenant or group of tenants as a replacement. This change is an opportunity to further strengthen West Acres and to provide an even better selection to our customers”, states Chris Heaton, Senior Vice President of Property Management at West Acres.
“It continues to be a time of change in the retail industry, and although this brings about exciting new opportunities we understand that change can also be hard, especially for those that may be changing jobs or losing one of their favorite stores. The FM employment market, including retail positions, is strong. Current stores are hiring and new stores that come in will be building entire teams.”
We will continue to keep our customers up to date on a closing date for Herberger’s and W.P. Carey’s upcoming plans for the site as they become available.