15 Big Lots store leases across the region listed for sale

The chain's new owner is selling the leases of about 500 stores in 47 states.


Big Lots on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota is among the stores set to close for good.
Big Lots on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota is among the stores set to close for good.
Photo by Elizabeth King
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Big Lots’ new owner is selling the leases for nearly 500 stores in 47 states, including 15 locations between Pasco and Collier counties and east to Lakeland.

The new owner, Gordon Bros., a Boston based assets company, says the store leases up for sale are for properties that range from 18,963 square feet to 54,933 square feet and are mostly located in shopping centers. A total of 44 are in Florida.

The company says it is accepting offers for individual or multiple locations. Bids are due no later than Jan. 24.

Gordon Bros. recently bought Big Lots, a closeout retailer that focuses on “extreme value,” out of bankruptcy saving it from what many had feared would be a total liquidation of the retailer.

Despite the concerns, Gordon decided to keep hundreds of stores open. It first provided a $200 million delayed draw term loan to give the company liquidity as it implemented a turnaround strategy and a $150 million debtor-in-possession financing when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

Despite the financing and the decision, the chain was forced to close or sell hundreds of stores. According to CoStar, Big Lots had closed about 500 stores nationwide as of Oct. 30 and leases for 255 more were up for sale at that time.

As part of its purchase, Gordon agreed to sell between 200 and 400 Big Lots locations and two distribution centers to North Carolina-based retailer Variety Wholesalers Inc.

Variety is operating the locations it bought under the Big Lots brand and, according to a Jan. 3 news release announcing the agreement, says it would keep store and distribution center employees as well as some corporate employees needed to keep operating Big Lots moving forward.

As for the store leases now up for sale, Gordon’s co-head of North America real estate services Michael Burden calls them an “opportunity for expansion-minded retailers to grow their footprint.”

Big opportunity at Big Lots
Store NumberAddress Size
51715584 CORTEZ ROAD W. BRADENTON40,919 SQUARE FEET
42201243 S MISSOURI AVE. CLEARWATER26,541 SQUARE FEET
15454429 CLEVELAND AVE.
FORT MYERS
31,486 SQUARE FEET
51964212 US HIGHWAY 98 N.
LAKELAND
32,293 SQUARE FEET
51904233 S FLORIDA AVE.
LAKELAND
39,713 SQUARE FEET
16492414 LAND O LAKES BLVD. LAND O LAKES38,688 SQUARE FEET
5225241 US HWY 19 NEW PORT RICHEY33,746 SQUARE FEET
5611825 TAMIAMI TRL. PORT CHARLOTTE29,515 SQUARE FEET
5402900 34TH ST. N. ST. PETERSBURG46.974 SQUARE FEET
5370501 N. BENEVA RD. SARASOTA42,198 SQUARE FEET
5477565 W. HILLSBOROUGH AVE. TAMPA30,000 SQUARE FEET
529565 US HWY 41 BYPASS VENICE30,080 SQUARE FEET
15014840 ALLEN RD. ZEPHYRHILLS41,139 SQUARE FEET
53441427 S. COLLINS ST. PLANT CITY46,514 SQUARE FEET
54612820 U.S. HWY 301 DADE CITY30,267 SQUARE FEET

 

author

Louis Llovio

Louis Llovio is the deputy managing editor at the Business Observer. Before going to work at the Observer, the longtime business writer worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Maryland Daily Record and for the Baltimore Sun Media Group. He lives in Tampa.

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