K-Mart Building woes….
Wow, according to an article in the Wenatchee World, the State Department of Natural Resources might finally be ready to take some action on the former K-Mart building in K-Mart plaza at Olds Station. The former K-Mart closed in 2006 and has been vacant since that time.
The article is a bit unclear in that it sounds like the DNR is taking the first steps to sell the building by offering it to other goverment agencies. The article also claims the need to get around the $6 million appraised value to be able to sell it. I’m thinking they might be dreaming in this market if that is truly the case. The article further states that the county has been frustrated since the DNR is still receiving lease payments from K-Mart so they seem to be in no great hurry to take action on the property. So, it is a little hard to tell if something is really going to happen. In the Wenatchee World article, Buell Hawkins commented:
“The DNR was not willing to make any site improvements,” Hawkins said. “That’s common business practice – a landlord modifies a building for a perspective tenant. The fact that DNR wouldn’t do that kind of points to the fact that they are not well-suited to be in the commercial property business.” – Wenatchee World
It seemed odd to me that the Port of Chelan county hadn’t been a party in looking at this as an economic development project. I gave the Port a call and they explained to me that commercial/retail wasn’t an area that they usually participated in and that the budget for a project like this wasn’t available currently at any rate.
So, at $6 million I doubt anyone is going to be willing to roll the dice on being able to set a new tone for the former K-Mart plaza in this economy. Does anyone have any bets on what price the property will sell for? Mine is well below $6 million. It is a shame, the location has great visibility and traffic.
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