Former Bon-Ton Store in Lewistown, PA, Nine Others to Be Auctioned

LEWISTOWN, PA—The Bon-Ton at Lewistown Mall, a 46,660-square-foot free-standing store on a 0.83-acre lot, is one of 10 former Bon-Ton stores facing a bankruptcy auction January 28. Real estate advisory and brokerage firm A&G Realty Partners will auction the 10 department store properties.

“Downtown Lewistown has seen a resurgence of young entrepreneurs opening businesses,” says Michael Jerbich, a Chicago-based principal at A&G. “Local officials are committed to finding alternate uses for this space.”

The stores being auctioned range in size from 45,000 to 165,000 square feet, in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois. They were formerly operated under the Bergner’s, Herberger’s, Carson’s, Younkers, Elder-Beerman and Bon-Ton banners.

Available at auction are three properties located in the new Qualified Opportunity Zones created by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, says Emilio Amendola, co-president of A&G Realty Partners, which is headquartered in Melville, NY. Those properties are in Iowa and Minnesota.

“We’re seeing massive interest in these incentives among high-net-worth investors and diverse real estate funds alike,” he says. “They offer capital gains tax reductions of as high as 15 percent, and holding for a full 10 years can yield a capital gains tax deduction of 100 percent. On top of that, many Opportunity Zones nationwide are in gentrifying areas with strong growth potential.”

In May 2018, A&G was retained to dispose all real estate assets of The Bon-Ton Stores, on behalf of a joint venture between Great American Group, Tiger Capital Group and Bon-Ton’s second lien noteholders. The assets included seven ground leases, 194 leased locations and 23 fee-owned properties.

“To date, 13 fee-owned and seven leased properties have been successfully sold to storage users, developers/investors, fitness centers, a casino, home furnishings retailers, and healthcare users, to name a few,” Jerbich says. “The large-format spaces on auction here are rife for reinvention and repurposing, and the sale also represents a tremendous opportunity for market penetration in these areas.”