ALPENA – Although saddened by the closure of Kmart, business owners along the US-23 South corridor are optimistic a new tenant can be found quickly and provide further growth in the area.

South Bay Alpena President Larry Clark said the announcement from Sears Holdings to close the store didn’t come as a surprise because of the actions the company has taken in the past and by the apparent lack of business over the last few years. He said the news may seem bad now, but could be a good thing in the future.

“I think it could be disadvantagous in the short term, but in the long term I think if we get some business that adds more of a variety it will increase traffic,” he said. “If we were to get something like a Hobby Lobby, it would also likely spur further development.”

Neiman’s Family Market owner Hal Neiman said the employees who will lose their jobs when the store closes are in his thoughts and he hopes they are able to find employment in Alpena. He said US-23 South is in the middle of a resurgence with the construction of several new businesses and adding more in the Kmart property will only push things further forward.

“I hope we can find someone who can move into that facility that will help us grow in the direction we are,” Neiman said. “I’m confident this setback can be turned into a positive.”

Kmart originally opened in 1980 as one of the original tenants in the Alpena Mall. It moved to its current location in the late 1990s and has continued to survive a changing shopping climate in Alpena, as more big-box retail stores opened on M-32 West. Over the last several years Sears Holdings has made many changes to its operational plans to become more profitable, but Friday it announced the Alpena store wasn’t profitable enough to continue.

Alpena Mall owner Brain Winter said he wasn’t shocked at the company’s decision to close the store, but is optimistic that the building will remain empty only for a short time. He said the property owner has been trying to market half of the building for some time and now that the entire property will be available, it is possible multiple businesses could open there.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone already has interest in it and helped push the process of it closing,” Winter said. “If they were able to put new stores in there it would be wonderful and a huge benefit to the US-23 corridor. I’m excited to see what happens.”

Business owner Dennis Schultz said it was common knowledge that Kmart was struggling and barely staying afloat for some time. He said economic development leaders in Alpena, including Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Director Jim Klarich, have been and will continue to work to fill the vacant building with something that will suit the area well and hopefully invite future development.

“Jim has this high on his priority list and we’re encouraged something optimistic will happen,” Schultz said. “Kmart closing is a sad thing and I’m sorry to see it go, but it is an opportunity to bring in something fresh.”

Young’s Appliance owner Bob Young said the writing has been on the wall about Kmart’s future for a long time. He said the addition of a new Dollar General, O’Reilly Auto Parts and a new hardware store on US-23 South has reinvigorated the corridor and adding a new business or businesses at the Kmart location would be huge for everyone.

“Kmart had the longest going out of business sale ever and I’m really not surprised. It was anticipated,” Young said. “It is sort of a sigh of relief because now we can move forward. There has been a lot of great things being done in Alpena this year and it is on an upward trend. Getting new businesses in there would only continue that.”

Sears Holdings said a liquidation sale will begin Thursday and it expects the store to be closed in mid-December.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews. Read his blog, Upon Further Review … at www.thealpenanews.com