Josh Joseph of the Chicago-based Hilco Real Estate, the company that is handling the liquidation of the company's assets, says that leaves two stores, one more 30,000-sf store in Birmingham and one in Jacksonville FL, as well as the 60-acre, 238,000-sf headquarters facility in Jackson, MI.

The company had owned 27 facilities, but 24 of the fee-owned or leasehold properties were sold, Joseph reports. He tells GlobeSt.com the other Birmingham store, the building on the corner of Old Woodward, is close to a sale.

"We're very close on the other Birmingham store," Joseph says. "We should have a contract signed by Friday."

He says he couldn't name the buyer, or how much the deal is for. Joseph did say the buyer is a real estate developer who is planning to make the building into a mixture of retail and office space.

Geoffrey Hockman, chairman of the Downtown Birmingham Principal Shopping District Board, says Fuller has promised to work with the district to bring a strong retail component.

Joseph says Birmingham, one of the highest-priced retail markets in Michigan, has been difficult to work with in plans for redevelopment of the stores.

"The city has been challenging," he says. "It has very strict zoning ordinances, guidelines and requirements for development."

Joseph says there is interest for the last three facilities.

"We have received an offer on the Jacksonville property, from the community college that is adjacent to the store, but the bid was not high enough," Joseph says.

Earlier this year, Jacobson's received more than $39 million for 12 properties in Florida, Indiana, Kansas and Michigan. The company had already closed 10 locations, including taking its presence out of Ohio.

Jacobson's, a regional specialty store chain, filed a Chapter 11 petition for reorganization on Jan. 15 with the US Bankruptcy Court in Detroit after a loss of more than $57 million in 2001. The company closed five under-performing stores in Columbus, OH; Toledo, OH; Clearwater, FL; Osprey, FL and Tampa. Five other stores were closed soon after the bankruptcy was filed.