J.C. Penney Cutting Store Size in Half

MIAMI-The J.C. Penney at Pompano Square Mall in Pompano Beach, FL is planning to decrease its size to a little more than half the store’s current square footage at an undisclosed project cost. The remodeled store will be approximately 83,000 sf, compared to the 156,000 sf it occupies now.

Plano, TX–based J.C. Penney is planning to sell the remaining space to the developer and lease the 83,000 sf back, company spokesman Tim Lyons tells GlobeSt.com. This space will include the 74,000-sf store on the first floor, as well as 9,000 sf of office and stock room space on the second floor, he says.

Currently, CDC Pompano Property Trust, which is an affiliate of New York’s CDC Mortgage Capital, owns the mall. But Charlotte, NC-based Faison Enterprises Inc. and Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. inked a contract to purchase the mall in 2000. The sale has not closed to date. The store originally opened in 1970.

To remodel, the store expects to close for much of next year, late January until its fiscal fourth quarter (the company’s 4Q runs from November through January). The store’s 127 workers will be laid off, but can apply for positions when the store reopens.

“We’ve seen sales declining somewhat in that store, but we feel it’s still a viable location [and] can still serve the market in a smaller space and operate more efficiently,” Lyons says. “With it being totally remodeled and rebuilt, basically we’ll have a new store that we hope our customers will be drawn to.”

The remodel will help the store increase sales per sf. The entire 400,000-sf mall is planning on a major renovation and reconfiguration as well.