Elder-Beerman Coming To Town, Realtor Says
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Elder-Beerman, an upscale full-line department store, is coming to Warsaw.
The regional chain and owners of Marketplace of Warsaw, Rein Warsaw Associates, plan to invest $2 million in renovations to the old Big Wheel and BuySmart property before the store opens in late summer or early fall, according to Gary Salyer, of Warsaw Real Estate, who arranged the deal.
The vacant store was owned by Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa, which recently sold it to Rein, which is headquartered in New York City.
After its sale, the 58,000-square-foot building was leased to Elder-Beerman Co., of Dayton, Ohio, Salyer said.
Elder-Beerman is comparable to L.S. Ayres or Hudsons.
The chain has more than 50 stores in the Midwest, including nine in Indiana. The closest store is in Elkhart.
Despite its largest store being vacant for five years, the shopping center has done well with its other stores, including Stage, J.C. Penney, On Cue, Sears Appliances and Dunham's Sporting Goods.
The addition of Elder-Beerman places the shopping center at least on equal footing with the two other nearby shopping centers that are anchored by Kmart and Wal-Mart, Salyer said.
"I think it puts us a step ahead," Salyer said. "It's closest to town and easily accessible without getting on the highway,"
In addition to Elder-Beerman, First Source Bank is constructing a new branch next to the shopping center. It is slated to open soon.
Marketplace of Warsaw was constructed about 12 years ago, but the anchor store, Big Wheel, closed and reopened for a few years as a BuySmart.
The store has been vacant for about five years.
Salyer said the store's size has been a drawback in leasing it. "The store was just too big for most stores and too little for box stores," he said.
Calls to Elder-Beerman's corporate headquarters were not returned early today.
Warsaw is likely one of the smaller markets Elder-Beerman has moved into.
"Our town is very small to get a store like this, but Warsaw has advantages with summer traffic that other cities don't," Salyer said.
"It's very much needed," he said.
Salyer said more renovations - interior and exterior - are planned. Some of the changes could involve expansion of some stores, he said.
"There's a lot of dollars getting ready to be spent out there," he said.
Rein had wanted to buy the store property for some time, but was waiting for a tenant to be lined up prior to the sale, Salyer said.
Three other major stores looked at the property in the past two years, he said. [[In-content Ad]]
Elder-Beerman, an upscale full-line department store, is coming to Warsaw.
The regional chain and owners of Marketplace of Warsaw, Rein Warsaw Associates, plan to invest $2 million in renovations to the old Big Wheel and BuySmart property before the store opens in late summer or early fall, according to Gary Salyer, of Warsaw Real Estate, who arranged the deal.
The vacant store was owned by Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa, which recently sold it to Rein, which is headquartered in New York City.
After its sale, the 58,000-square-foot building was leased to Elder-Beerman Co., of Dayton, Ohio, Salyer said.
Elder-Beerman is comparable to L.S. Ayres or Hudsons.
The chain has more than 50 stores in the Midwest, including nine in Indiana. The closest store is in Elkhart.
Despite its largest store being vacant for five years, the shopping center has done well with its other stores, including Stage, J.C. Penney, On Cue, Sears Appliances and Dunham's Sporting Goods.
The addition of Elder-Beerman places the shopping center at least on equal footing with the two other nearby shopping centers that are anchored by Kmart and Wal-Mart, Salyer said.
"I think it puts us a step ahead," Salyer said. "It's closest to town and easily accessible without getting on the highway,"
In addition to Elder-Beerman, First Source Bank is constructing a new branch next to the shopping center. It is slated to open soon.
Marketplace of Warsaw was constructed about 12 years ago, but the anchor store, Big Wheel, closed and reopened for a few years as a BuySmart.
The store has been vacant for about five years.
Salyer said the store's size has been a drawback in leasing it. "The store was just too big for most stores and too little for box stores," he said.
Calls to Elder-Beerman's corporate headquarters were not returned early today.
Warsaw is likely one of the smaller markets Elder-Beerman has moved into.
"Our town is very small to get a store like this, but Warsaw has advantages with summer traffic that other cities don't," Salyer said.
"It's very much needed," he said.
Salyer said more renovations - interior and exterior - are planned. Some of the changes could involve expansion of some stores, he said.
"There's a lot of dollars getting ready to be spent out there," he said.
Rein had wanted to buy the store property for some time, but was waiting for a tenant to be lined up prior to the sale, Salyer said.
Three other major stores looked at the property in the past two years, he said. [[In-content Ad]]