Sears store to close
Originally at a different location, the retailer has had a presence in Midwest City since 1959.
The alreadydead Heritage Park Mall will grow more dormant in September after the Sears location there closes, and city officials are working to find out what will happen to the building.
Although originally at a different location, Sears has had a presence in Midwest City since 1959, Midwest City economic development director Robert Coleman said.
In 2016, the Midwest City Memorial Hospital Board of Granters and the city hired Dallas-based consultant firm Catalyst Commercial to do a marketing study on the possible future of the Heritage Park Mall, which closed in 2010. Coleman said it was assumed the Sears location would be there for sometime based on comments Sears had previously made. He said two of the three plans suggested by Catalyst included Sears.
The Sears store is one of two entities remaining in the mall.
A branch of Life. Church sits at the opposite end of the mall from Sears, but each of the parcels they are on are owned separately from the mall. Coleman said the closing presents an opportunity because there is less of a mystery on the east end of the mall, where Sears is located.
“We’ll work with Sears any way we can,” Coleman said. “I’m not sure if they intend to hold on to the property or sell the property and what kind of time frame they would look at if they did decide to sell it.
“So those are things that we’re going to have to talk about with Sears Holding company and try to get some idea on which way they are going to go with it.”
The department store at 6909 E Reno Ave. has been open since 1978. Midwest City City Manager Guy Henson said in a statement Midwest City is “disappointed” with the announcement of the closing.
“They have had a presence in Midwest City for many years and have been an important part of our retail community,” Henson said in the statement.
“We will immediately contact the Sears Real Estate Trust to discuss the future of their building.”
Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings, on Wednesday said the store would remain open until early September. A liquidation sale will begin June 16, Riefs said.
“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced,” Riefs said in the statement.
Riefs said the number of employees at the store would not be released. In the statement he said “those associates that are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores.”
A Kmart store in Tulsa also will close.
The company in January released a list of 150 Kmart and Sears locations which were all set to close by the end of March.
Sears locations in Tulsa and Lawton and a Kmart in Muskogee were on the initial list. Sears Holdings is reportedly adding 72 more locations to a list of closing stores.
After the Midwest City location closes, the only remaining Sears stores in the Oklahoma City metro area will be at 4400 S Western Ave. in Oklahoma City and 3201 W Main St. in Norman. The only other Sears store in the state is in Tulsa.