Sears To Open Valley Mall Store

The proposed Spokane Valley Mall took another giant step forward Tuesday with the announcement that Sears Roebuck and Co. has signed a letter of intent to build a 133,690-square-foot store at the site.

The disclosure by District General Manager David Fielding follows by little more than a week news that The Bon will be an anchor in the development, which has been little more than a weed-infested field at the intersection of Sullivan and Interstate 90 for five years.

J.C. Penney is also committed to the project, said G. Rex Frazier, president of JP Realty Inc.

JP Realty is the Salt Lake City-based trust that will develop the mall. The first phase will incorporate 650,000 square feet with space for more than 100 shops, Frazier said.

“We are very pleased with the commitment of the anchors,” he said. “We are proceeding.”

Frazier declined to give a cost estimate for the project. A groundbreaking date will be set later, he said.

The two-level Sears store will be about 20 percent smaller than the NorthTown Mall store. An eight-bay auto center will be separate.

Opening is scheduled for the fall of 1997.

Fielding said the store will feature a new look as part of Sears’ $4 billion expansion and remodeling effort. Apparel will be given special emphasis.

, DataTimes