The leases had been bought at auction yesterday in a bankruptcy court disposition overseen by court-appointed Keen Realty, based in New York. Stage Stores, based in Houston, is in the midst of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed last year. The company plans to emerge from bankruptcy in the summer, says Matthew Bordwin, Keen's vice president.

Bordwin tells GlobeSt.com that to date 38 store leases have been sold and 30 rejected. Stage, a clothing retailer, had closed 100 stores in year 2000 and another 115 in February.

Yesterday's bidding had started at $1 million for the eight leases and, says Bordwin, the two most interested parties had been Peevles and the Dunlop Co. The seven Ohio leases consist of an 11,000-sf store in Hillsboro; 16,800-sf store in Willmington; 16,000-sf store in Van Wert; 18,000-sf store in Sidney; 21,500-sf store in Tiffin; 20,800-sf store in Freemont; and 11,000-sf store in Marysville. The Indiana lease is for a 12,200-sf store in Tell City. Bordwin also says another 21,000-sf lease in Coschocton, OH had been sold at yesterday's auction.

Stage Stores is keeping open 300 stores in the multi-brand chain. Keen's disposition includes leases from Stage, Bealls and Palais Royal store concepts.

Keen Realty has more than 20 years' experience in solving complex problems and evaluating and selling real estate, leases and businesses in bankruptcies, workouts and restructurings. The company has worked with more than 130 clients nationwide and evaluated and disposed of better than 183 million sf of properties, as well as repositioned nearly 11,000 stores across the country. Past and recent clients include Service Merchandise Mart, Hechingers, The J. Peterman Co., Filene's Basement, Caldor, Garden Botanika, Paul Harris Stores, Herman's Sporting Goods, Kmart, Learningsmith and Family Golf Centers.

Instant Insights /

Peevles Pays $2.1 Mil for Eight Stage Store Leases

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