The fate of closed Boscov's stores at Monroeville Mall and South Hills Village now is in the hands of a court-appointed receiver.
Gregory T. Malony, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., a Chicago-based commercial real estate company, was named caretaker of the two anchor store sites closed and left vacant in the wake of Boscov's bankruptcy filing on Aug. 8.
"We will be coming to the sites in the next few days to get a better feel for their conditions and what's left there," said Malony, whose appointment was approved Thursday by Allegheny Common Pleas Court Judge Paul F. Lutty Jr.
Malony said his role will include making sure utility and other necessary bills are paid and the properties kept in good condition.
After "assessing the condition of the property," he will recommend a course of action to the court, which could include hiring a real estate company to market the property to new tenants.
Court documents say CWCapital Asset Management LLC, of Washington D.C., asked the court to appoint a receiver after H&R Real Estate Investment Trust of Toronto defaulted on a $19.8 million mortgage.
H&R owned the properties and leased them to Boscov's, the documents say. H&R won't make any future payments to CWCapital and will continue to be indefinitely in default, the documents say. H&R officials cound not be reached for comment.
The Monroeville and Upper St. Clair stores, both former Kaufmann's, reopened in 2006 as Boscov's.
Both stores were closed after liquidation sales conducted by restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC. The South Hills Village Boscov's closed on Sept. 28, and the Monroeville location was shuttered on Oct. 13, according to spokesmen for the two malls.
Despite weakening economic conditions in the U.S., there is reason to believe both the Monroeville and South Hills locations won't stay vacant for long, said Doug German, a retail real estate broker with Hanna Commercial.
"I think this will create opportunity for other retailers," said German. "I am sure there would be a number of companies who aren't yet in this market who would look at the locations," he said.
One potential department store replacement could be Nordstrom, the upscale Seattle-based retailer that just opened a new store in Ross Park Mall in Ross, German theorized.
"It's not unusual for retailers to seek sites for more than one store in a new market, and Nordstrom's has two stores in Indianapolis, which is a smaller market than Pittsburgh," he said.
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