By Deb McKee, The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE - Plaza North Shopping Center has been sold for $10.8 million, with the deal to be finalized soon, a Zionsville-based real estate group confirmed Wednesday.
Harry Kennerk, senior investment adviser of Sperry Van Ness/Sycamore Capital, said the northside mall has been for sale for about six months, but Kennerk could not confirm who has entered into a purchase agreement with the seller.
Tyler Oliver, one half of the business partnership Oliver/Henzlik, the real estate company that owns Plaza North, denied that the property had been sold. "I haven't seen any money," Oliver added during a phone interview from his Kansas office.
A listing in the online weekly real estate newsletter "CoStar Lead Street" named Plaza North as one of about a dozen properties "under contract" nationally. The newsletter publishes its report to update the public on "major properties that have come under contract for purchase and sale."
Some business owners who are tenants at Plaza North have heard rumors, but most said they did not know any details of the pending sale. Those who had heard about a new owner said they didn't anticipate significant changes.
Emma Breneman, the owner of Curves, a women's fitness center in Plaza North, said she knew the shopping center had been sold. She isn't concerned, she added. "It's not going to change the lease that I know of," she said. Breneman's business has been there for more than three years and "business is good."
Plaza North sits on roughly 32 acres at the intersection of Fort Harrison Street and Lafayette Avenue. The shopping mall, built in 1964, has been through multiple owners and tenants and often is at the center of debates over north-side business development.
Residents of North Terre Haute have complained in recent years about the lack of better shopping choices. Plaza North currently is home to Dairy Queen, Big Lots, Harbor Freight Tools, a First Financial Bank branch, Sav-A-Lot grocery, Kadel's Hallmark, the north branch of the Vigo County Public Library, Radio Shack, Curves, Rent-A-Center, Payless Shoe Source, Fortune Buffet Chinese restaurant, H & R Block tax services, Nasser Furniture and Hoosier Hand Pak (a factory). The shopping center's neighbors are Menards on the west side and a Walgreens to the east.
Becky Payne, a sales associate at Kadel's Hallmark, said she has seen a lot of stores leave Plaza North in the nine years she has worked there. She said she wasn't aware of the sale of the shopping center.
Mose Nasser, owner of Nasser Furniture, has been in the Plaza North location for about four years, he said. "I don't think there are going to be any changes in rates or service," he said about the changing ownership. "I haven't heard of anything."
The standalone Dairy Queen, which has been operated by Frank Walker since 1974, won't change a bit, Walker said. "We just signed a 20-year lease," he said. "Even with the new owners, I'm not worried about it. We'll be here."
General manager Irene Stringer said the ice cream shop has seen minor changes with each change in ownership. "[Plaza North] has been sold before," she said. "I just hope they get a good clothing store around here."
At least one person who already has felt the sting of the sale is Dave Davis, who has been the one-man maintenance staff responsible for the upkeep of Plaza North for 12 years. The purchase has meant one thing to Davis: "Out of work, that's what it means," he said Wednesday.
The buyer offered Davis an opportunity to contract his maintenance services, but declined to keep him on staff, he said.