Michigan's last Kmart store has a new owner after closing

The building that housed the last Kmart store in Michigan has a new owner with plans to bring more retail to the site near Battle Creek.

B. Riley Real Estate, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based B. Riley Financial, said Wednesday that it bought the former Kmart at 15861 W Michigan Ave. in Marshall. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“As the last Kmart location closed when the retailer exited the Michigan market, this store was a strong retail performer,” Michael Jerbich, president of B. Riley Real Estate, said in a statement. “The strength of the existing center coupled with the future growth of the Marshall market, including the planned Megasite development initiative, makes this a compelling investment opportunity.”

The 86,479-square-foot building sits in the Marshall Plaza shopping center one mile west of the city's downtown. It also sits less than three miles away from a 1,600-acre site known as the Marshall Megasite, that's being marketed for industrial development.

The developer says it plans to work with the city to redevelop the space to bring in a mix of national retail tenants. No tenants have been named.

The last Kmart store in Michigan closed in late November, ending a nearly 60-year history in the state for the discount department store chain.

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CWilliams_DN