KENAI -- Soldotna clothing store Gottschalks announced plans July 30 to move from its current building to a long-vacant space in the Peninsula Center Mall on the Sterling Highway.
The space, located between the Soldotna Safeway grocery store and the mall area, has been empty since 1998 when Rite-Aid pulled out. Prior to Rite-Aid, the property had hosted retailers Payless Drug Store and Pay N Save. The location was purchased from Rite-Aid in March by Anchorage-based Penco Properties, which said at the time it planned to spend approximately $100,000 to renovate the space.
Penco announced July 30 that Gottschalks had entered into an agreement to lease the renovated space. In a press release issued by the company, Penco general manager Henry Penney said he's thrilled to have found a tenant for the 49,870-square-foot location.
"We are truly excited about this opportunity enabling Gottschalks to double the size of their present store," Penney said. "This move will give them room to expand and display additional merchandise more in keeping with their other Alaska stores. Additionally, the prime location will focus and revitalize the shopping center."
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Gottschalks store manager Linda Newland said she and store employees are thrilled at the thought of moving to the larger, busier location in the mall.
"Everybody here is ecstatic," Newland said.
The new location will enable the clothing store to stock a much wider variety of items than it does at its present location on the Kenai Spur Highway, she said.
The move is expected to come in October. Newland said she's already got high hopes for how to fill the new space in the mall and is planning for the big move.
She said she remembers when the current Gottschalks building opened as a Lamont's in 1984, and even then the space seemed too small, she said.
"I knew in 1984 that we needed more room. I think (the mall) is a perfect location."
Gottschalks operates 64 stores in six states, including six in Alaska. The expanded Soldotna location will more than double the amount of space the Soldotna location uses.
In a press release issued by Gottschalks, company CEO Jim Famalette said the move fits in with the company's overall plan to expand and renovate its smaller existing stores in Alaska.
"The relocation of our Soldotna store will mark the closure of our last small store in this market and is in line with our focus on improving Gottschalks' existing store base," he said. "We anticipate that the increased square footage and additional merchandise will contribute to continued sales growth in the Alaska market."
