WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- Black Friday weekend shoppers at the Wausau Center Mall were greeted with a surprise at the old Younkers space.
Signs saying "Future home of Hom Furniture" began popping up this weekend, signaling that a deal for the Twin Cities-based furniture store to purchase the building has been completed and renovations will soon get underway.
"From our understanding, they have closed on the property. They will begin renovations and open in the spring," said Wausau's Economic Development Director Chris Schock. An exact opening date hasn't been announced, but Hom Furniture officials are expected to release a statement on the progress of the Wausau store Wednesday, December 5th.
Schock says this weekend's news doesn't severely alter any of the future plans for the mall. He still expects the property to be sold sometime soon, and while the city isn't interested in purchasing it they will lend a hand in developing the area.
"We know retail is not the future [of the mall,] but it will still be a component. So Hom Furniture definitely fits in the short to mid-term plan for that," said Schock.
He went on to call Hom a natural fit for Wausau because there are several manufacturers in Marathon County that sell their goods in their other stores across the region. It also helps diversify the retail offerings in the mall. "We look forward to seeing what they bring as a diversification to downtown. There's not a lot of furniture offerings and this does add that interesting diversity."
The Home Furniture deal doesn't change any of the long-term goals of diversifying and possibly breaking up the mall space as the regions appetite for retail stores declines thanks to the convenience of online shopping.
The retail chain has made a couple of prior attempts to open a location in the current mall space. Most recently in the old Sears building, which they lost out on to Eau Claire-based Micon Cinemas who proposed a multi-screen theater for the space. That deal fell through for various reasons.
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