By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo's Kmart at 998 Broadway is, once again, facing a shut down. For city leaders it's de j vu.
Last March, Kmart employees from the Broadway store were giving high-fives to Mayor Masiello after Kmart Corporation accepted a large incentive package to keep the store opened. But almost one year later, its future is, once again in doubt.
Kmart is asking a bankruptcy court to approve the closing of more than 300 stores nationwide. The Broadway store and the Kmart on South Park in Hamburg are on the list as "under performing" stores.
City incentives to keep the Buffalo store opened included five tax-free years and six months of free rent. Fillmore District Common Council Member David Franczyk says it's a "grievous disappointment" that the store can't survive.
"They should have been able to do it. My wife and I shop there," Franczyk said. "By under performing it's probably not making as much as a store in a very prosperous suburban area. But I think the people here supported the store."
Franczyk says he doesn't believe HSBC Bank, which holds the mortgage, or the city will be able to rescue the store again. Franczyk says it's time to search for a new retailer or business.
"Perhaps we could have a mix of business and public safety," he said. "For example, the fire department could locate a new building there. We are going to hit the ground running.
"Unfortunately, we are looking at this issue a year later. We gave it a stay of execution for one year. But part of the problem is sprawl. The city of Buffalo is a victim of sprawl. There use to be 40,000 people living in that neighborhood, now there are now only 10,000 people."
Franczyk says closing the Buffalo store will hurt the entire Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. The manager of the store declined to comment on the potential closing.