The City of Scottsbluff Planning Commission this week considered a request to amend the redevelopment plan for the Uptown Scottsbluff Mall to include rehabilitation of both that facility and the former Kmart site.
According to the proposal submitted by Rockstep officials, the existing mall would be divided by demising walls into three separate parcels to allow separate ownership of each, plus the potential for an additional 8,000 square feet of retail space.
The former Kmart site would be the fourth parcel, with plans to demolish a portion of the existing building, rehabilitate the rest, and further subdivide that property into a total of five or more parcels for further retail site development.
Rockstep CEO Tommy Stewart said there is a lot of momentum right now and these things come in waves with the national tenants, so you have to take advantage of them when they do come along.
Stewart says they are working with four national retailers to back-fill the mall portion, along with some others that may come along in the next couple of years. “So we’re looking to back-filling the mall in sections and then down the road to do a 4,500 square foot out parcel out front and work on the parking lot. So I know that’s a key thing to us, too,” said Stewart. “With the Kmart center, we’re going to do out parcels. Our goal is to back-fill the major portion of it.”
The plan proposes improvements to be funded by more than $15 million in private sector financing that would be leveraged by more than $2.36 million in TIF financing requested from the city, plus just under $10 million in occupation tax bonds that would be paid by the proceeds of an enhanced employment area tax of two percent on sales at businesses on both properties.
Following a positive recommendation from the Planning Commission, the redevelopment plan will appear before the Scottsbluff City Council during a future meeting.
