Next Realty has now backfilled all five of its vacant Sports Authority sites, with Big Lots signing up to occupy 48,849 square feet at the defunct sporting goods chain’s Merrillville, IN location. The new lease relocates Big Lots from an end-cap position in the same shopping center, and paves the way for the opening of a “Store of the Future” prototype.
Amy Levin, director of leasing at Next, represented ownership. Big Lots, a tenant at the center since 2009, was represented in-house by the retailer’s Vince Cattano.
Next is currently marketing the 28,000 square feet that Big Lots will vacate in its end-cap space, which can be leased to a single tenant or subdivided. With the Merrillville lease signed, the landlord has now filled about 250,000 square feet left vacant by Sports Authority’s bankruptcy.
