The new owner of the former Sears store at Gateway Mall plans to redevelop the building and lease it out to new tenants.
Work is going on at the 120,000-square-foot building at 6400 O St., and John Dewhurst, the leasing agent for the property, said it likely will be ready for tenants by the end of the year.
A company called SRB Gateway LLC last month bought the former department store building, a separate building occupied by Red Lobster and a vacant lot, all of which were owned by Sears, for $6.3 million. SRB Gateway LLC has a Dallas-area address, but Dewhurst declined to provide details about the company.
Sears closed the store last March after the company declared bankruptcy. The retailer had been at Gateway since 1971 and had a presence in Lincoln since 1928.
Dewhurst said the new owner is open to leasing the building to one large user that would take the whole space, but it's more likely it will be divided into smaller spaces and leased out to several different tenants.
In fact, a brochure for the property put out by Dewhurst's Omaha-based company, Hard Corner LLC, shows the building potentially divided into five retail spaces ranging in size from about 8,000 square feet to nearly 35,000.
Dewhurst said there already has been interest in the building from potential tenants, but he declined to name any of them because no leases have been signed.
The redevelopment will be good for Lincoln, he said.
"The developers are excited."
Lincoln stores that have closed or are slated to close
Lincoln stores that have closed in recent years
Fresh Thyme, October 2020
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market at 52nd and O streets was one of the major new retailers to open in Lincoln in the first half of 2016. It closed in October 2020.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star file photo
Bed Bath & Beyond, 2020
Bed Bath & Beyond closed its north Lincoln location, shown here on the far right in the Lincoln Crossing shopping center.
Journal Star file photo
Scooter's, October 2020
Scooter's Coffee closed two of its three downtown locations in October 2020, including the location at Eighth and P streets and the one in the Gold's Building at 11th and O streets. The stores did not close because of the pandemic, but because the company is moving all locations to drive-thrus.
Journal Star file photo
Photo Shoppe, May 2020
Photo Shoppe in Piedmont closed in May 2020.
Photo Shoppe Facebook page
Jos. A. Bank
Jos. A. Bank, shown at far right, closed its Lincoln location at The District at O Street because of its parent company's bankruptcy filing.Â
Journal Star file photo
Pier 1, January 2020
Pier 1's store at SouthPointe Pavilions closed in January 2020.
Matt Olberding
Gordmans
The Gordmans store at Lincoln Crossing closed after its owner, Stage Stores, declared bankruptcy.
Journal Star file photo
Wright's Jewelers, November 2019
Wright's Jewelers in the Pioneer Woods shopping center at 70th Street and Pioneers Boulevard closed in November 2019.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Post and Nickel, November 2019
The Post & Nickel at 14th and P streets closed in November 2019 after 52 years.
MATT OLBERDING, Journal Star file photo
Forever 21, November 2019
Forever 21 opened a store at Gateway Mall in June 2013 and closed in November 2019.
Journal Star file photo
Charming Charlie
Charming Charlie closed its store at SouthPointe Pavilions.
Matt Olberding
Dressbarn, May 2019
Dressbarn, with a SouthPointe location, closed in May 2019.
Victoria Ayotte
Banana Republic
Banana Republic closed its Lincoln store at SouthPointe Pavilions.
SouthPointe Pavilions Facebook page
Charlotte Russe
Charlotte Russe closed its Gateway location and all other stores.
Victoria Ayotte
Shopko
Shopko closed its four Lincoln stores, including its location at 27th Street and Nebraska 2.
Journal Star file photo
Rogers Jewelers, 2019
Rogers Jewelers at Gateway Mall closed in 2019.
Rogers Jewelers Facebook page
Sears, March 2019
Sears' Lincoln location at Gateway Mall closed in March 2019.
Journal Star file photo
Gap, January 2019
The Gap store at SouthPointe Pavilions closed in January 2019.
Journal Star file photo
Beauty Brands, January 2019
Beauty Brands in Centro Plaza at 48th and R streets opened in 2016 (shown in photo) but closed Jan. 19, 2019.
Beauty Brands Facebook page
Mattress Firm, October 2018
The Mattress Firm location at 5001 O St. closed in October 2018.
Younkers, August 2018
The 100,000-square-foot Younkers store at Gateway Mall closed in August of 2018.
Matt Olberding
Akin's Natural Foods, June 2018
The Akin's Natural Foods store at 6900 O St. in Meridian Park closed in June 2018.
Akin's Facebook page
Toys 'R' Us, June 2018
The 30,000-square-foot Toys 'R' Us store at 5220 N. 27th St. in Lincoln closed in June 2018.
Matt Olberding
Husker Headquarters north location, April 2018
Husker Headquarters in Lincoln Crossing on 27th north of Superior Street closed in April 2018. There is another location downtown, at Gateway Mall and at 5631 S. 56th St. in The Alamo Center.
Journal Star file photo
U.S. Bank
The U.S. Bank branch at 13th and L streets closed in January. It became the fourth branch to close in Lincoln and was one of more than a dozen that closed across Nebraska.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star file photo
Christopher & Banks
Christopher & Banks, which has two stores in Lincoln, declared bankruptcy in January and said it may close all of its stores.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com .
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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