The rural king arrives in the old Kmart | News, Sports, Jobs


Rural King, a retailer of agricultural supplies and equipment and general merchandise, this month closed its purchase of the old Kmart building and parking lot on Plank Road, next to the Logan Valley Mall, according to one directors of the limited liability companies that had owned the property since the 1960s.

Rural King bought 10.8 acres, not including two outdoor plots, one of which was sold for a car wash and the other under an interim sale agreement, said David Cohen of CF Altoona LLC and Altoona Associates LLP.

A Rural King real estate executive who was referred to the Mirror for comment did not respond to three voicemail messages.

Founded in Mattoon, Illinois, in 1960 and still based there, Rural King has over 100 stores in 13 states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Florida, Carolina North, West Virginia. and Virginia, according to the company’s website.

There is a Rural King location at State College.

The rural king is “America’s Farm and Home Store,” sale “A wide range of basic necessities, essential goods, food, feed, seeds and other agricultural and domestic products” the company’s website says. “(A) mixing products with items such as feed, farm equipment, farm parts, lawn mowers, work clothes, fashion clothes, housewares and toys.”

The company intends to renovate and reuse the approximately 97,000 square foot building, as far as it knows, Cohen said.

The building was built in 1967 as a Kmart, Cohen said.

The Kmart store closed in 2019.

There have been obstacles to selling the property since then, including issues related to COVID-19, Cohen said.

Hoped-for deals with two previous buyers fell apart, according to Cohen.

The two exterior plots, either side of the main entrance, off Plank Road, are each 1 acre.

Hutton of Chattanooga, Tenn., Owner of the ModWash chain, plans to build on the right side, from the perspective of someone looking at the property from Plank Road.

The old Kmart Auto Center building stands on the other off-plot, which the future buyer is in the process of completing “due diligence” and apply for permits, Cohen said.

He can’t say what the buyer’s intentions are for the property and doesn’t know if the buyer plans to renovate or raze, Cohen recently said.

Once that buyer closes, the ownership group of which Cohen is a member will be fully divested of Altoona’s ownership, Cohen said.

The owners were from the Midwest and were investing in Kmarts in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania at the time, Cohen said.

Mirror staff writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

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