It’s a deal.

Hy-Vee officially acquired Oak Park Mall Tuesday afternoon after the Austin Port Authority, business officials and city leaders finalized the last details for Hy-Vee to take possession of the store and build a new 60,000- to 90,000-square-foot store.

“Obviously we’re happy it’s done,” Austin Director of Administrative Services Tom Dankert said. “We’re happy that we were able to work with the parties to get the project done.”

The final paperwork was filed Tuesday afternoon with the Mower County Recorder’s office to close the deal. It closes a process that has gone through many ups and downs after being announced last October. The main mall common area closed and most tenants left the property late last year, but then the deal stalled for several months in early 2015. Talks revived over the summer, and the deal was eventually reached. The Austin Port Authority approved the $2.9 million deal, which was funded through a roughly $3.65 million Hormel Foundation grant on Oct. 19.

“The Austin Port Authority is pleased to confirm that the purchase and sale of Oak Park Mall to Hy-Vee Inc. is complete,” Craig Byram, the Austin Port Authority’s attorney, wrote in an email. “Along with the citizens of Austin, we look forward to seeing Hy-Vee proceed with the construction of their new store and completing the parking lot resurfacing and other improvements. We thank all the parties whose cooperation was required to allow this project to proceed and all the staff and professionals working on behalf of those parties for your professionalism and commitment to seeing this project through to its conclusion.”

Hy-Vee kicks off early stages of development

On Wednesday morning, Hy-Vee manager Todd Hepler expressed his excitement that the deal is done.

“It’s real exciting to see that we finally after all these years that we finally have a direction with where we’re going,” he said.

Hy-Vee will soon get to work demolishing the main portion of the mall to build its new store, but it’s already gotten to work on the portions of the building that will remain.

Hy-Vee will retain the existing leases for Odyssey Entertainment Inc. (the theater), Younkers, the Wells Fargo ATM, and Anytime Fitness. Company officials have met with tenants over concerns, and Hepler said a big concern was the parking lot. Hy-Vee has already gotten to work doing some cold patching to get the parking lot through winter, though the company has said it will eventually enact longterm repairs for the lot.

“Now that the Oak Park Mall deal is closed, we look forward to working with the tenants as our plans for construction move forward,” Hy-Vee Inc. said in a written statement this morning. “Our first step is asbestos abatement, which will begin immediately. We will have more details on construction as the project continues.”

The company will now look at maintenance needs for the building, which Hepler said will include turning on the heating units, repairing the roof, and hiring a floor crew to inspect and possibly clean the common areas.

Hepler noted they’re in the early stages and there’s much work to be done before demolition begins; however, work should move quickly and be steady until the new store opens.

“Hy-Vee’s a very aggressive company, and we want to get the ball moving as fast as possible,” Hepler said.

Hepler has said the new store would likely include a large health foods and frozen foods sections, and the new store could increase the bulk items from about 30 options to 160 or even 200 bins for items like nuts, granola and dried fruits that are bought in bulk, commonly in small plastic bags.

He’s estimated the new store will also increase staffing levels from about 365 to about 575 to 600.

Several new departments could also be added at the new store. Hepler said Hy-Vee will likely increase its online buying department. About four weeks ago, Hy-Vee added online buying, and Hepler said it’s been very popular to date.

Hy-Vee could start soon on demolition as it starts the process to build a new, stand alone grocery store between Younkers and Shopko.

Younkers also plans to remodel its store for the first time since 1993. Christine Hojnacki, the vice president of public relations and special events for Younkers parent company Bon-Ton Stores, has said work is expected to include new lights, fixtures, carpeting, paint, fitting room upgrades and more. Hojnacki also said some departments could also move as part of the remodel. Younkers’ shoe department is currently located outside the main store in the mall, but that area will be demolished. The shoe department will be moved inside the store. The cosmetic and jewelry departments will also be relocated to create a new center court space.

Uncertainty remains around theater

Though the deal is closed, questions still remain. Last Thursday, Odyssey Entertainment, the owner of CineMagic 7, issued a statement arguing Hy-Vee and the Austin Port Authority’s plans to redevelop the mall into a new grocery would leave the theater in “a dead-end experimental retail alleyway.”

Bryan Sieve, Odyssey’s vice president of finance and development, said that the company believes the theater’s positioning under the new plan would set it up for failure.

“We believe it’s an extremely risky redevelopment of the mall as it pertains to the theater space,” he said.

However, Hy-Vee, which is now the theater’s lease holder, issued a statement saying it’d like to see the theater stay.

“As the future landlord, Hy-Vee will meet the obligations as outlined in the lease,” Hy-Vee wrote in a statement to the Herald. “We will be making improvements to accommodate CineMagic 7 Cinema’s operation, and we hope that they remain a tenant in the center.”

Dankert said he hopes the deal will lead to success for all the businesses and parties involved, including CineMagic 7.

CineMagic 7’s lease didn’t change as part of the deal, so it didn’t need to sign off and agree to the terms of the contract.

As part of the agreement finalized Tuesday, the port authority will hold an additional $75,000 to reimburse Hy-Vee should any of the leaseholders decide to seek litigation for Hy-Vee’s development efforts.

‘This has been a long process’

Despite the uncertainty with the theater, officials were pleased the deal closed Thursday.

Dankert thanked Hy-Vee for sticking with the project even when it stalled. He also thanked the port authority’s attorney Craig Byram and city staffers Ann Kasel, Joyce Hovey and Jon Erichson for their work with the project.

“It took a whole team of people to get here,” he said.

Hepler likewise thanked the city employees and Austin Port Authority for getting the deal done.

“This is a really big deal for our community and without community leaders, this big deal would not happen,” Hepler said.

Dankert also thanked the public for their support for the project.

“This has been a long process,” he said. “We’ve needed their support.”