ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260050
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
What will happen to the Wal-Mart in the Marketplace shopping center after the retailer permanently closes its doors there at 6 p.m. today?
That's a question many have asked, but no one has answered ... yet.
But everyone has heard rumors about the soon-to-be-empty 85,000 square feet of retail space.
Sidney Knowles, an assistant manager at the Supercenter, heard a tractor company had been looking at the the site. And the post office, which has talked about consolidating its offices in Christiansburg and Cambria, had been eyeing the space, he heard.
But Knowles isn't exactly in the loop. "The home office doesn't keep us involved in that."
Retail insiders say they have heard an office supply store might move in. When told that, Wal-Mart District Manager Jeff Powell nodded his head. "That would work," he said.
In other places Goody's has moved into vacated Wal-Mart sites, Powell said. But Goody's already has a store in the Marketplace.
The people most in the know - officials at Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. - say they are not sure yet who the new tenant will be.
Even Mike Thornton, who manages the Marketplace for Faison & Associates of Charlotte, N.C., said he hasn't heard much. It is Wal-Mart's responsibility to sublease the space, he said.
One thing is for sure, Wal-Mart officials say.
"We will find a tenant for the space," said Keith Morris, a spokesman for the company in Bentonville.
Wal-Mart's first choice, he said, is to find a local tenant, but "that's a process that's probably just begun recently."
In other places, Wal-Mart has subleased to businesses such as Toys R Us, J.C. Penney, Burlington Coat Factory and Gold's Gym.
"But right now the only thing we're concentrating on is who might be interested locally," Morris said. Putting in a Wal-Mart spinoff such as Sam's Wholesale Club, which sells bulk items, or Bud's Discount Center, which sells close-out items, is a last resort.
Kathy Mantz, executive director of the Christiansburg-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said she has received serious inquiries about the site and has not heard from Wal-Mart regarding a new tenant.
Morris said the company does not have a time limit for its search, and in other places the company has split up sublease space.
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB