Harbor Freight coming to Sterling, moving into old Staples location

STERLING – More good news for the East Lincolnway business corridor: Harbor Freight Tools soon will be opening in the vacant Staples spot in Pine Tree Plaza, at 4311 E. Lincolnway, says Kit Kyarsgaard, owner of the shopping center.

Harbor Freight will take up only about 16,000 square feet, leaving 7,000 square feet available, along with a 1,600-square-foot open spot next to Game Stop, Kyarsgaard said.

Renovation will start soon, and plans call for the discount tool retailer to move in in mid-summer, Kyarsgaard said.

In May, the Sterling native, owner of SKR Rentals just east of the plaza, and SKR Acquisitions, also bought Lee Wayne Plaza.

He hired Sterling Commercial Roofing to reroof the building at at 2317 E. Lincolnway, which be bought for $235,000, and he will hire other local contractors to work on the facade and do other remodeling, in the hopes of also attracting new businesses to several open sites there, he said.

Kyarsgaard, who works for Caterpillar and now is living in the Peoria area, is offering the same deal as the new owners of Northland Mall: free rent for 6 months at either location, while the businesses establish themselves and build a customer base.

“I’m just a local guy trying to keep things local,” he said.

Harbor Freight has been in Kyarsgaard’s sights since he bought the plaza in 2017, but at the time, Harbor Freight already had plans to open stores in Freeport and in Clinton, Iowa, and wanted to see how they did before committing to a Sterling location, he said. Five years later, the company is pleased with its success regionally, and is ready to pull the trigger here.

Dollar Tree now anchors the 58,209-square-foot plaza, which was built in 1998, and its newest tenant, Sophie’s Cafe just celebrated its one-year anniversary there on March 1. Game Stop, Sally’s Beauty, Aaron’s, Shoe Sensation, One Main Financial and Nails Spa also are in Pine Tree.

The Staples location has been vacant since 2015, when the plaza was sold through an online auction after a 28% occupancy rate put the property, then owned by Pine Partners LLC, in foreclosure that November. Staples had announced earlier that year that it would close its store, which was practically a death knell for the strip mall. Payless, Fashion Bug, Petland and RadioShack also decided to leave.

The 41,000-square-foot Lee Wayne Plaza, just west of Paone’s Blackhawk Lanes, has roughly 35,000 square feet ready to rent, in 200- to 15,000-square-foot spaces, he said.

Those interested in spots at either site can reach Kyarsgaard at 815-626-6858.

Tennessee-based Brookwood Capital Advisors bought Northland Mall, 2900 E. Lincolnway, in January for $1.7 million, and immediately announced its offer of 6 months free rent. In about five weeks, the mall, easily two-thirds empty, filled all of its empty slots with local businesses, including an arcade, boutiques and clothing stores, a furniture retailer, and more.

Find Northland Mall on Facebook to learn more.