Closing Of Ashland Store To Proceed: JC Penney Official

A JC Penney official said Thursday the company will move forward with closing its downtown Ashland store, despite a last-minute attempt by Ashland Mayor Bill Whalen to find a way to keep it open.

“The process for closing the store and liquidating the merchandise is already under way, and there are no plans to consider other options,” spokesman Tim Lyons said via email.

Whalen has been in contact with JC Penney officials, but nobody with the authority to postpone the scheduled January closing, he said Tuesday night.

“I haven't gotten to the top of the rung, yet. They keep throwing you to the gatekeepers,” he said. At the top rung is Ron Johnson, JC Penney CEO.

Last month, Lyons confirmed the company's decision to close the store in January, citing mediocre sales and the poor condition of the building occupied by JC Penney.

Whalen said he's working with the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce and the Ashland Area Economic Development Corp. to “advance some creative ideas that could benefit JC Penney's and the community.” In a news release, Whalen listed the names and titles of four different JC Penney officials, whom he's contacted in search of more information.

“Even the woman that's doing the closing, she tried to get information for me,” Whalen said. “But they won't give it to her.”

Whalen proposed possibly using tax-incremental financing to upgrade the building, though the city would first need to place the downtown store within a so-called TIF district. Properties within TIF districts are able to borrow against future property tax revenues in order to finance improvements.

At a rally in front of the JC Penney store on Saturday, former Mayor Ed Monroe also expressed support for placing JC Penney within a TIF district. More than 50 people attended the rally, many of them carrying signs in a show of support for the store, which opened in Ashland in 1925. “I'd support the city buying the building for heaven's sake,” Monroe said.

During an interview last month, Lyons described the JC Penney building as “in need of repair” and requiring “substantial investment.” The landlord of the property, MJH Properties, has denied the building is in poor condition. Representative Henry Martinsen Jr. accused JC Penney of using the building condition as an excuse to close.

Along with studying tax-incremental financing, Whalen said, he's looking into whether the JC Penney store could be made into an independent franchise. He cited the franchise arrangement for the Sears store on U.S. Highway 2 as a potential blueprint for franchising JC Penney.

Lyons said JC Penney does not operate franchises, but it does have “JC Penney Express” locations, at which an independent local business offers services from the company's website, jcp.com. “I don't know if one of these is in the works for Ashland, though,” he said.