Kmart buyers hope to attract national retailers

An investor who purchased the Kmart building in North Carson City for $6.7 million said Monday that the company hopes to bring in national tenants that are new to Carson City.

Chris Maguire, president of Cypress Equities, said his company knows how to take aging, empty buildings and turn them into commercial successes.

"We're in negotiations with a number of different retailers, some in the market, some new to the market," Maguire said Monday from his Addison, Texas, office. "Our plan is to lease it to one or more tenants. We'll be doing work to the building once we have tenants."

And they'll be doing it with the help of taxpayers' money. A redevelopment official said the major players were attracted to the deal because Carson City offered development funds.

Carlyle/Cypress Carson City purchased the 18.5 acres at 3456 N. Carson St. from the Wilmington Trust Co., according to documents filed Monday with the Carson City Recorder's Office. Alan Glover, clerk/recorder, called the sale one of the city's largest in several years.

Carlyle/Cypress registered as a Nevada corporation on Nov. 28 and closed the sale of the 169,000-square-foot Kmart building about three days later. Cypress Equities, a Dallas company, partnered with Equity Group, of Las Vegas, to purchase the former Kmart.

"We closed the sale pretty quickly so we're hoping we'll be able to identify and negotiate deals with tenants quickly," Maguire said.

This sale could transform the north end of Carson City, where the big-box store has been an empty reminder of the retailer's Chapter 11 bankruptcy more than three years ago. Many store fronts in the North Town Plaza shopping center remain vacant because of the absence of an anchor retail tenant.

"Hopefully, we're your savior," Maguire said. "We've had good tenant interest in it."

Rumors have circulated about the possibility of a major discount clothing retailer, but he declined to give any names.

Dave Cheatham, Cypress Equities' development partner on the West Coast, based in Phoenix, will be involved in the Carson City project.

Carson City Economic Development Manager Joe McCarthy and Mayor Marv Teixeira visited Las Vegas to recruit the Equity Group.

"This is a three-way partnership between Equity Group and Cypress and Carson City," said McCarthy.

He said the developers would not have taken on the risk without the support of city redevelopment funds.

The Kmart will need to be annexed into a city redevelopment zone. McCarthy said the amount the investors will receive will be determined in the next few months of public meetings.

The building's owner needs to charge a competitive rent to attract a retailer here, rather than Douglas County. The city could help subsidize the monthly rent, McCarthy said.

"It's a matter of helping these guys get this building filled up with good clothing stores, sporting good stores or electronic stores to better serve our community," he said.

Cypress has completed projects in several states, including Arizona, California and Pennsylvania.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.