Cape furniture store owner buys former NARS building

Cape Girardeau businessman Jack Ford has purchased the former NARS building and plans to relocate his Slumberland Furniture store to that Town Plaza site — the latest chapter in the ongoing revitalization of the longtime shopping center.

Ford said Thursday he purchased the 64,000-square-foot building Nov. 15 from St. Charles, Missouri-based Greater Missouri Builders, which owns the shopping center.

Ford said Slumberland will take up 32,000 square feet. The furniture store is expected to open in the new location in June or July, he added.

Existing tenants Midori Japanese Cuisine restaurant and the home-goods retailer Here Today will remain in the building as Ford’s tenants.

Ford added he seeks to rent out two additional spaces in the building, one totaling 2,500 square feet and another totaling 7,500 square feet. The latter space previously housed the Pink Galleon billiards bar.

Ford said he plans to make renovations to the building to accommodate his furniture business,

which will be east of the Here Today store.

“We are basically gutting it and starting over,” he said. “It should be a beautiful remodel.”

City building and code enforcement manager Anna Kangas said city staff have reviewed the plans and are awaiting revisions.

Renovations are projected to cost $500,000, Kangas said, citing information from the building-permit application.

Ford said he is looking forward to moving the furniture store from its North Kingshighway location.

“This is just a better location overall,” he said.

Ford, who has owned Slumberland for the past eight years, said the Town Plaza site will provide more space for the store and more parking.

The Town Plaza building once was home to Sears.

National Asset Recovery Services leased the building and opened a call center in the building in 2007. But in 2013, the company, which had changed its name to Integrity Solution Services, closed the call center.

Greater Missouri Builders and city and economic development leaders struggled to find tenants to fill the structure.

Scott Campbell, president of Greater Missouri Builders, said in July 2016 the closure of the call center had made it harder for his company to recover the $3.5 million it invested in fixing up the former Sears building for use as a call center.

The Cape Girardeau City Council established the Town Plaza Community Improvement District in 2007 to attract the job-creating call center.

It allowed the district, governed by Greater Missouri Builders, to levy a 1 percent sales and use tax to recover costs.

But the loss of the call center and the subsequent closure of other businesses, including a movie theater, resulted in less tax revenue for the district and Greater Missouri Builders, Campbell said last year.

In the past year, however, there has been renewed interest in the iconic shopping center. A number of businesses have opened, including Planet Fitness, while others such as Harbor Freight tool store and Krispy Kreme have announced plans to locate in Town Plaza.

The Southeast Missourian reached out to Campbell for a comment. As of late Thursday, messages left on Campbell’s office phone had not been returned.

Ford said his newly purchased building will remain a part of the special taxing district. As a property owner in the district, Ford said he will serve on the CID’s board of directors as required by state law.

Ford said a revitalized Town Plaza was a factor in his decision to locate his furniture store there.

In addition, he said he decided to buy the building because he did not want to have a lease arrangement as is the case with the North Kingshighway store.

Mayor Harry Rediger welcomed Ford’s decision to buy the building, adding it is “good news” for the local economy.

“We are excited about it,” Rediger said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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