The announcement that bookseller Borders Group Inc. will begin closing its 399 remaining stores this week is likely to leave a hole in the heart of aficionados of the printed word, but it's also likely to leave a big hole to fill in Westfield Franklin Park.
Local experts, however, don't think the vacancy will last long.
Kurt Pollex, a retail specialist with commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein, said Franklin Park's owners probably are working on new tenants for the space Borders occupies and that it won't be vacant for long.
"When stories about Borders came out, there were retailers that connected [with Westfield Group] directly on some larger-scale deals, deals that would involve a number of their properties," Mr. Pollex said, adding that the space could be attractive to a Borders competitor, such as Books-a-Million, which has a presence in Perrysburg at Levis Commons. Or it could be leased for a more nontraditional use.
"It would surprise me to see it on the market for any amount of time," he said.
Mark Zyndorf of Signature Associates said it may take some time for mall officials to find a replacement tenant for what, up to this point, has been Borders' minianchor status in the West Toledo mall.
"It's a tough call. They already have more vacancy than they've had [previously] at the mall," Mr. Zyndorf said. "The advantage of that space is that it was built with an outside entrance. My guess is that it'll be some type of retail, but it's probably too soon to know what will go in there."
After 40 years in business, including 6 in metro Toledo, the Ann Arbor chain is seeking court approval to sell off its assets after it failed to receive bids that would keep it in business. Borders is expected to ask the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan at a scheduled hearing Thursday to allow liquidators to dispose of its assets and close the stores.
If the judge approves, liquidation sales could start as soon as Friday. Its remaining stores, including its one-story outlet at the Franklin Park mall, could be shut down by the end of September.
Erika Williams, general manager at Westfield Franklin Park, said the mall has not received official word from Borders that the bookstore intends to close.
"I can't comment on that right now, because we don't know [officially] if they're leaving or not," Ms. Williams said, declining to comment further. A spokesman from Westfield's corporate headquarters in California could not be reached for comment.
The Borders store at Franklin Park was added to the mall as part of a 350,000-square-foot wing completed in 2005.
About the same time Borders opened in the mall, Thackeray's Books -- a longtime local independent bookseller that was supplied by Borders -- closed at the Westgate Village Shopping Center.
The loss of Borders stores will deal a blow to malls nationwide, according to real estate sources.
Borders stores average about 25,000 square feet -- about half the size of a football field -- and a liquidation could leave large empty spaces across the country.
Borders' move to close 228 stores while it reorganized in bankruptcy protection increased the collective vacancy rate of shopping centers that contained a Borders to 9.3 percent from 4.2 percent, said Chris Macke, senior real estate strategist at CoStar Group, the nation's largest provider of real estate data.
Mr. Macke calculated the liquidation of the rest of the chain could increase the vacancy rate on that same basis to 18.8 percent.
The Blade's news services contributed to this report.
Contact Larry P. Vellequette at: lvellequette@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.
First Published July 20, 2011, 4:22 a.m.