Joann closure to create vacancy at Springfield retail center

A longtime tenant of a southeast Springfield retail center is closing, opening up square footage in a busy sector of town.

Hudson, Ohio-based fabric and craft supplies retailer Joann announced in a statement this week that all of its stores would conduct going-out-of-business sales after GA Group and its prepetition term loan agent submitted the winning bid for the retailer's assets through bankruptcy proceedings. Joann in January filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year.

The company has some 800 stores, including its only southwest Missouri location in Springfield at 3370 S. Glenstone Ave.

"Joann leadership, our board, advisers and legal partners made every possible effort to pursue a more favorable outcome that would keep the company in business," the statement reads. "We are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact on all our stakeholders."

The company's restructuring website indicates the asset sale was approved yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

In Springfield, Joann occupies around 16,000 square feet in the roughly 372,000-square-foot Primrose Marketplace, according to documents on file with the property owner, Beachwood, Ohio-based Chase Properties.

Officials with Chase Properties could not be reached for comment by deadline on plans for the space that is soon to be vacated.

A Q&A posted by Joann indicates the going-out-of-business sales "will take a number of weeks." A final date isn't noted.