I want to welcome everyone back from the long holiday weekend.

And it looks like you came back in time for some major development at the Valley Mall.

The biggest thing to watch for is whether the U.S. Bankruptcy Court will approve a bid from Forever 21 to take over leases the Gottschalks space at the Valley Mall and in 13 other locations. It also has a bid to buy three stores that are owned by Gottschalks.

A final hearing is scheduled for Thursday. If Forever 21 receives approval, it’s expected to close on the deal by early June.

Forever 21 has used the closure of department stores such as Gottschalks to expand their reach. Last year, it joined Kohl’s, another popular budget retailer, to take over the space of 46 locations at Mervyns, which went out of business late last year.

The Los Angeles retailer, is known for selling chic but affordable clothing for junior women www.forever21.com. However in the last few years, it has expanded its offerings by opening flagship stores called XXI. The stores, which average about 24,000 square feet, offer products for both men and women of all ages.

If Forever 21 takes over the Gottschalks space at the Valley Mall, it will likely house one of these flagship stores. It currently has seven locations in Washington state with both the Forever 21 and XXI concepts.

Speaking of the Valley Mall, I got an e-mail update from owner Fred Bruning over the weekend concerning other retail developments at the Valley Mall:

As of today, we have finalized letters of intent for the former Linens N Things space, as well as for the spaces immediately to the north of the former LNT. We were fortunate enough to have two national tenants to choose from to fill the LNT space, and I think the community will be excited about our choice.  Once the lease is executed, which I believe will happen within the next 30 days, we will be able to announce the tenant, but it is a national retailer that will add significant strength to our overall lineup.

For the adjacent space (to Linens ‘n Things), we will be adding a 9,500 square foot cosmetics and beauty products store.

We hope to have both stores open for business by this October.

It looks like we have a lot going on these days. As always, we’ll keep you updated.

• Want to reach blogger Mai Hoang? E-mail her: mhoang@yakimaherald.com

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