Emerging From Ernst's Demise -- Various Retailers Moving Into Former Home-And-Garden Stores

More than two years since Ernst Home Center went out of business, some of its former Eastside stores are still vacant.

But several of the home-and-garden-store buildings have been given new life, and change is imminent for the remainder.

The new uses are striking in their contrast with the old. They range from clothing stores to a family amusement center. Where Ernst sold tools and nursery products for 103 years, its successors seem to be selling everything but.

The one exception on the Eastside is the Renton Highlands store, where Ace Hardware split the space with a Pic n Save variety store. Selling hardware in the shadow of Eagle Hardware & Garden and The Home Depot, particularly in light of the Ernst bankruptcy, is not a prospect that appeals to most retailers.

Shopping centers are still in recovery from one of the Northwest's most important retail failures of recent years. The Ernst stores, vacant since January 1997, left 39,000-square-foot holes in shopping centers in five states.

"It was a shock to the landlords for these kinds of spaces to come available all of a sudden," said Don Fosseen, retail broker for CB Richard Ellis.

Finding new tenants for 79 large stores in five states wasn't a simple matter. Fadco, the company that bought Ernst's leasehold interests from creditors, hired Gig Harbor's First American Properties to get the most value out of 29 Western Washington locations.

Lease terms ranged from a few years to as much as 40 or 50 years, with renewal options, said First American President Steve Ruggiero. In some cases, such as at Redmond's Bear Creek Village, First America subleased stores to new tenants. Some landlords, including those controlling Totem Lake Malls and Factoria Mall, preferred to negotiate buyouts of the leases.

The new stores began to open last year.

In addition to the Renton Highlands stores, they are:

-- Linens 'n Things, a home-furnishings store that opened last fall in the former Ernst store at Bear Creek Village and is now doing battle with Bed Bath & Beyond at nearby Redmond Town Center.

-- Off-price clothing store T.J. Maxx, which occupies an entire building in downtown Woodinville.

-- Gart Sports in downtown Bellevue. A new home for Kaufman's Tall and Big Men's Shop is being built on the property, and part of the former Ernst is being remodeled for Kinko's Copies.

-- Remodeling is under way at Totem Lake Malls, where Car Toys has leased part of the old Ernst building and Ross Dress for Less is committed to the much larger lease, according to knowledgeable sources. John Graham, principal for Totem Lake redeveloper-manager Gramor Development, would not confirm that Ross is the tenant but said the major tenant will be announced later this week.

The most unusual business to succeed an Eastside Ernst apparently will be Illusionz, an amusement center being built by 13-year Microsoft veteran Mike Dobias. Magic will be the name of the game when the business opens at Town & Country Square on Gilman Boulevard in Issaquah.

Dobias, who worked as a magician during high school and college, has hired magician Steffan Soule to help plan shows at Illusionz. Attractions will include two theaters for magic shows, laser tag, a children's climbing structure, an arcade, miniature golf, magic displays, a restaurant and party rooms.

Scheduled to open in September, Illusionz also will feature outdoor batting cages. Dobias was thinking of his five children while developing the concept: "I want to do something that they could be involved in as they got older. I was looking at the market and wanted to do something fun."

At Factoria Mall, rumors have suggested Barnes & Noble and Old Navy as tenants. General Manager Craig Chang said the shopping center is close to signing leases for the former Ernst building but declined to name the tenants pending a completed deal. Chang said shopping-center representatives have spoken with Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other possible tenants. He said the details of leases are being completed.

Although Ernst's demise has left a lengthy vacancy at Factoria, it has not been a crushing blow. The shopping center landed a Nordstrom Rack in 1997, the year Ernst closed, and saw total sales rise 18 percent over 1996.

Retail extra

Gray Barn, a garden center on Redmond-Fall City Road, will open a second store in Redmond's Bella Bottega shopping center next month.

North Bend Chevrolet Oldsmobile is adding Chaplin's to its name after its purchase by Kent Chaplin, president of Chaplin's Bellevue Volkswagen and Subaru.

Regal Cinemas will open its Galleria Cinema 11 in the Bellevue Galleria on April 23.

Lamonts, back from bankruptcy, plans a $1 million renovation of its Factoria Mall store. Stacks, which sells storage and organizing products, will move into the space vacated by Blockbuster Music in 1996 when the roof caved in at Crossroads Shopping Center.

Keith Ervin's phone message number is 206-515-5632. His e-mail address is kervin@seattletimes.com

Shop Talk appears on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.