MASON CITY – Apparently citing a legality – and in doing so, protecting its turf – Kohl’s retail corporation is blocking the Marshalls store from opening in the Willow Creek Crossing shopping district in Mason City.
City staff confirmed what NIT had suspected for months but was unable to officially confirm until now. “We have been notified by the developer that Marshalls will not be locating in the Willow Creek Crossing Shopping Center,” a city official told NIT Monday. “We haven’t gotten any permit applications or plan review requests for a different location.”
The Marshall’s department store location – very near to the Kohl’s Department Store – has been under construction for months, and the city council had already granted a massive tax break of $480,000 to the retailer to help lure it here. Other, adjacent buildings that are being builty are nearly done, most notably a Joann Fabric store, the new home to the store currently located at the Southport Shopping Center. That store opens October 3.
However, work by Henkel Construction on the Marshalls store has ground to a halt. City councilman Alex Kuhn, who helped approve the huge tax break and also works for Henkel, did not respond to a question from NIT about the development. Many have wondered how the council can give massive tax breaks to retail developments to the detriment of established retail and not face consequences.
Later city staff expanded on the information they disclosed earlier.
“I wanted to send you the statement we received from the broker representing the owner of Willow Creek Crossing, Steve Scott of NAI Optimum,” a city staff member said:
“We have hit a roadblock in leasing to Marshall’s. Kohl’s has taken the position that Marshall’s would violate a rather vague provision in our OEA, which is the governing document for Willow Creek Crossing Shopping Center. The provision does not specifically prohibit Marshall’s or TJ Maxx by name. Marshall’s believes that they would not violate the provision, but has stated that they will require a waiver from Kohl’s before going forward, which Kohl’s has been unwilling to provide despite continued attempts on my part to obtain. This impasse is a nationwide dispute between the companies and we don’t think we can do anything to resolve it at this point. So as a practical matter we think the Marshall’s deal is not going to happen as we cannot take the risk of litigation with Kohl’s.”
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