Dec. 15: Despite closures, a few projects move ahead

Good morning shoppers.

Goodness, it is cold outside. I really feel sorry for the new bellhops at the Sonic Drive-In down on South First Street. I hope they have jackets on. And I hope the baristas at Brewlesque Espresso do too. Surely wearing nothing but bustiers and corsets could cause frostbite every time they open that drive-thru window.

But you don’t have to go outside to read the latest in retail and restaurant news. And as I was MIA for a bit last week, I owe you a good update.

• I wrote last week about Del Harris Motors shutting its doors. Well it’s likely that the property will remain a car dealership of sorts. That will be one of the major things I will be check on today.

• Speaking of closures, the Corral West Ranchwear store at the Valley Mall is closing. They are in the process of liquidating inventory. The Union Gap store, however, isn’t the only Corral West location to close. The parent company filed for bankruptcy last month and dozens of stores are going through liquidation.

The closure of the shop leaves a huge vacancy at the mall. Fred Bruning, president of CenterCal Properties, the Portland-area firm that owns the mall, has always said he had several tenants to fill that space, so I’ll be watching to see if that is indeed the case.

• And in the liquidation sale front, I went by Linens ‘n Things this weekend.  Sale prices are at 50 to 70 percent off, but unless you want oodles of towels, various “Seen on TV” products or a football shaped chip-and-dip bowl, you might not find many items.

• Despite posting declines in same-store sales in November, Walgreens intends, for the most part, to continue its expansion plans, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

The story explains that one reason the drug store chain cannot stop its expansion plans is that the company has already signed lease agreements in several locations.

The Walgreens on Seventh and Yakima Avenues is scheduled to open in the next few weeks. And another Walgreens store is planed in West Valley, at 64th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard, near the future Wal-Mart store.

• Reader Brad asked a question via e-mail:

In the past year I’ve kept reading about new shopping centers coming to Yakima (16th Avenue by Yakima Cinema, S. 1st Street/ Main Street near Valley Mall and over by Costco).  But each time the developer says they can’t say what retailer will be coming.  And last I checked nothing new has been built on any of the property.  Any updates?

Here was part of my response:

** Riverpointe Landing (at 16th Avenue and U.S. Highway 12) — has been delayed for the time being. The developer cites that Home Depot, one of their major tenants have pulled out of the project.)

** Union Gap Promenade (by the new Costco off Valley Mall Boulevard — is still on as far as I know. They are in the process of subdividing that property. Word is that they have secured an anchor retailer for the shopping center, but they have not been able to reveal it.

** Yakima Square (at Old Town Road and Main Street) — That property has been silent for nearly two years. The SEPA was appealed by the city of Union Gap, but it was never pursued because the developer never made any headway into the project.

I think with the national economy in general, you will find that many of the projects will slow down because retailers are super cautious right now. Developers tend to be quite secretive about retailers until pretty much they're ready to move in. This prevents, I think, a letdown from consumers. Their logic is that it's better not to tell to tell people too early, especially if they end up pulling out.

That was indeed the case with Home Depot at Riverpointe Landing. However, there was a rumor out there that Home Depot was going over there, so it was probably a letdown to a lot of folks anyway.

Thanks, Brad for your question. And if you have any comments or questions, you can comment below this blog entry or you can e-mail me at mhoang@yakimaherald.com.

Happy shopping.