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Updated 8:56 a.m. Jan. 19: Added comments from Washington Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant.
From one big letter to another, the old Kmart building is about to have a new tenant.
According to a city source, Big R is on the verge of filling the building, which has been vacant for almost a year.
“The deal should be done by the end of the month if not by the first week of February,” the source, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “The cost and price of everything is good, it’s just the condition of the building is part of the hang up. ... It was supposed to be finalized in early January.
“We’ve been meeting with them for 4-5 months. It’s interesting because the vice president at Big R said he has been looking at Washington for 10 or 15 years.”
Dee Wells, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based management company Draper and Kramer that manages Cherry Tree Shopping Center, said a contract is on the table with a business, but was “reluctant” to give more details than that.
“It’s looking like (the contract could go through) by the end of the month,” Wells said. “Some things have come up at the last minute.”
When asked if the tenant-to-be was a Big R store, Wells paused and said, “That may well be.”
Several voice mails left for representatives at Big R’s headquarters had not been returned as of Thursday morning.
According to Washington Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant any deal with a prospective tenant for the estimated 87,000-square-foot facility is "far from a done deal at this point."
"Negotiations are ongoing," Oliphant said.
He would not give more details of any possible deal in the works.
According to its website, Big R is a farm, home and ranch family store that offers sporting goods, clothing and outdoor retail. It originated in 1964 in Watseka.
There are currently 12 Big R locations in northern Illinois and Indiana, including the newest location in Pekin, which opened in July.
There are another 100 Big R stores across the country that are affiliated with Mid-States Distributing Co. located in St. Paul, Minn., which manages more than 600 stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Big R took over the 120,000-square-foot space on Court Street in Pekin, previously occupied by Sears; about 50 jobs were created as a result of the store opening.
The Washington Times-Reporter will update the story as more details become available.
Updated 8:56 a.m. Jan. 19: Added comments from Washington Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant.
From one big letter to another, the old Kmart building is about to have a new tenant.
According to a city source, Big R is on the verge of filling the building, which has been vacant for almost a year.
“The deal should be done by the end of the month if not by the first week of February,” the source, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “The cost and price of everything is good, it’s just the condition of the building is part of the hang up. ... It was supposed to be finalized in early January.
“We’ve been meeting with them for 4-5 months. It’s interesting because the vice president at Big R said he has been looking at Washington for 10 or 15 years.”
Dee Wells, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based management company Draper and Kramer that manages Cherry Tree Shopping Center, said a contract is on the table with a business, but was “reluctant” to give more details than that.
“It’s looking like (the contract could go through) by the end of the month,” Wells said. “Some things have come up at the last minute.”
When asked if the tenant-to-be was a Big R store, Wells paused and said, “That may well be.”
Several voice mails left for representatives at Big R’s headquarters had not been returned as of Thursday morning.
According to Washington Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant any deal with a prospective tenant for the estimated 87,000-square-foot facility is "far from a done deal at this point."
"Negotiations are ongoing," Oliphant said.
He would not give more details of any possible deal in the works.
According to its website, Big R is a farm, home and ranch family store that offers sporting goods, clothing and outdoor retail. It originated in 1964 in Watseka.
There are currently 12 Big R locations in northern Illinois and Indiana, including the newest location in Pekin, which opened in July.
There are another 100 Big R stores across the country that are affiliated with Mid-States Distributing Co. located in St. Paul, Minn., which manages more than 600 stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Big R took over the 120,000-square-foot space on Court Street in Pekin, previously occupied by Sears; about 50 jobs were created as a result of the store opening.
The Washington Times-Reporter will update the story as more details become available.
