HomeGoods looking at perhaps opening a store at Topeka's former Bed, Bath and Beyond site
The HomeGoods chain of home furnishing stores is looking at opening a store at the former Bed, Bath and Beyond site along Topeka's Wanamaker corridor, but that won't happen unless more private investment is allowed in the shopping center involved, the mayor and council were told late Tuesday.
Mayor Mike Padilla and council members plan next week to consider a proposal that would allow that.
Councilman and Deputy Mayor Neil Dobler described his decision on whether to vote in favor of that measure as being a "no-brainer."
"I know my wife's going to be really excited when I get home," Padilla said. "She loves their store."
Proposal calls for sales tax in shopping center to stay the same
Attorney Bob Johnson, of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Polsinelli law firm spoke at Tuesday evening's meeting about the proposal involved.
The measure would revise an agreement the mayor and council approved in 2019 creating a "Community Improvement District" to enable Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Equity Investment Group Wanamaker LLC to raise the sales tax by 1 cent per dollar at multiple retail properties at the southeast corner of S.W. 17th and Wanamaker Road.
That agreement allows for that tax to be charged at those properties between Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2041.
"In the original agreement, the developer proposed to purchase and renovate an existing shopping center at the southwest corner of S.W. 17th Street and S.W. Wanamaker Road, with a total investment of approximately between $31.4 million to $33.9 million," said a document in the agenda packet for Tuesday's meeting.
Proposal wouldn't change time period involved
But the Bed, Bath and Beyond store at 1900 S.W. Wanamaker Road in that shopping center closed permanently after its parent company filed last April for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, that document said.
Framingham, Massachusetts-based HomeGoods is willing to put a store at the former Bed, Bath and Beyond site, but that would involve considerable renovation, the mayor and council were told.
Johnson said EIG also hopes to invest in other improvements at the shopping center to attract other businesses, including potentially building a store in an area that's currently a parking lot.
The proposed amounts involved were shared in an agenda packet document for Tuesday's meeting.
Within the amendment, the developer would increase its total investment from $31.4 million to $39.3 million to enable it to finance a proposed first phase of improvements, or from $33.9 million to $44 million to finance both a proposed first and second phases, it said.
The 1% CID and commencing/ending dates would remain unchanged under the proposal, meaning there would be no increase in the sales tax amount charged or the time period involved, Dobler said.
"It just raises the cap on their ability to capture that sales tax, which has gone up dramatically in the last two years," he said. "As they pointed out, that's also more sales tax for the city of Topeka."
Johnson was asked about the sister company relationship that exists between HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx, with some locations in the U.S. combining the two, and about whether Topeka's current T.J. Maxx at 2170 S.W. Wanamaker Road might be moved to the former Bed, Bath and Beyond site.
He replied, "I don't have any indication that that would be the case."
Car lot to offer no more than five vehicles for sale at once
Padilla and council members also voted 10-0 late Tuesday to change zoning for the property at 2900 S.E. Kentucky to allow the operation there of an auto dealership, which would never have more than five vehicles for sale at a time.
DreamMakers LLC would operate the business in a 12-space parking lot just north of the building it owns at 2900 S.E. Kentucky Ave., which is the site of businesses that include a real estate office.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: HomeGoods looking at potentially opening a location in Topeka
