Store considered desirable

Fierce competition for property expected when Sears leaves Lansdowne Place mall site after 36 years there

There’s expected to be plenty of interest in Peterborough’s Sears store building once it hits the market.

Though it’s still unsure when exactly the Lansdowne Place anchor store will be up for sale, its prime location will make it a hot ticket in the area.

That’s the feeling of both Dave Smith and Stuart Harrison. Smith is the former owner of DNS Real Estate, a commercial realtor in the city, and Harrison is the CEO and president of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.

Sears Canada announced it was closing its doors Tuesday. That includes the Peterborough location, which employs nearly 90 staff, many of them part-timers.

The liquidation process is slated to begin by the end of October and could finish by mid-December or as late as the end of January, a Sears spokesman previously stated.

Smith said the Peterborough Sears also owns seven acres of land in the mall parking lot, making it a “pretty attractive property.”

“That property will sell. There’s absolutely no doubt that it’ll sell,” Smith said.

A downside to it, however, is that it has two floors. Retail businesses typically like to keep merchandise on one floor, Smith added.

That said, its location makes it quite desirable. It’s attached to an established regional mall.

“Anyone within a 100 kilometres of Peterborough knows where Lansdowne Place is,” Smith said.

Once the business closes, Smith said a bank trustee will take charge of selling off the properties across Canada.

It’s more than likely that a big commercial brokerage out of the GTA or Montreal – that has a national and international presence – will handle the sale.

And Smith doesn’t think they’ll put a price tag on the property, nor could he even guess what it’d be worth.

“They let the market decide, because it just makes sense with something like this. It’s got to be sold and you never know who the buyers are,” he said.

There’s a good chance there’ll be a request for proposals for the property, too, Smith said.

“For something this big and this important, they won’t just pick somebody,” he said, adding there could be fierce competition to get it and many of the other Sears locations.

Smith suspects the owner of Lansdowne Place might be interested in purchasing the property as well.

Any profits made off the building sales typically end up going through a “pecking order,” Smith said. That includes creditors, suppliers and hopefully staff pensions.

“Staff should come first, but that doesn’t always happen.”

Meanwhile, Harrison is trying to see the silver lining in the loss of the long-time employer in Peterborough.

Eighty-seven people will lose their jobs once Sears closes.

Harrison is hopeful, though, that they’ll be able to find new work in one of the economic pillars of the community.

“They are well trained, good employees and this area has a fairly vibrant retail sector,” the CEO said. As for the Sears building, Harrison also thinks there won’t be a problem finding a buyer.

“I can’t imagine there not being significant interest,” Harrison said, mentioning its ties to the mall.

And that means new opportunities for the community.

There’s no telling what could happen to the space and how many new jobs it could bring to Peterborough, Harrison said.

“In the meantime, you certainly hope that those people (Sears associates) find jobs and I think that there’s every chance that they will,” Harrison said.

While Lansdowne Place officials didn’t comment on the possibility of buying the property, they stated in a media release they were disheartened by the prospect of Sears closing and the number of jobs that will be lost as a result.

“Sears has been the retail neighbour of Lansdowne Place for over 36 years and will be missed by our patrons and centre. While the loss of Sears will be felt by all, we have a very strong leasing and development team working behind the scenes to acquire new opportunities for the future,” stated Emily Dart, marketing director for 20 Vic Retail, which manages Lansdowne Place.