BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Leases for all four Big Lots locations in the Lehigh Valley are up for grabs.
Big Lots recently announced its agreement of sale to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, which would let Variety Wholesalers acquire 200 to 400 Big Lots stores.
The discount retail store currently operates more than 900 stores nationwide and that number is expected to shrink as more leases are listed for sale.
"These spaces offer a seamless path to enhance their presence and serve new communities, making it an ideal time to capitalize on prime retail real estate.'
Michael Burden, co-head of North America Real Estate Services at Gordon Brothers
Gordon Brothers Retail Partners previously released a list of store leases for sale that included two local stores — at 2349 Lehigh St., Allentown, and 2631 Macarthur Road, Whitehall Township.
In a Jan. 14 release from the asset liquidation company, Michael Burden, co-head of North America Real Estate Services at Gordon Brothers, referred to the move as a "fantastic opportunity" for "expansion-minded retailers."
"These spaces offer a seamless path to enhance their presence and serve new communities, making it an ideal time to capitalize on prime retail real estate," Burden said in the release.
The webpage dedicated to the lease sales says locations "across 47 states and range in size from 18,963 to 58,433 square feet."
Phase Two
Now, the only two remaining locations — at 2192 W. Union Blvd., Bethlehem; and 7150 Hamilton Blvd., Trexlertown — have been added to that list.
The document refers to the update as "phase two" of "new-to-market locations." The first PDF of leases for sales was labeled "phase one."
The lease for the Union Boulevard Big Lots is set to expire July 31, 2029, with an annual base rent of $148,607 for 28,306 square feet.
The Trexlertown location's lease is up sooner, on Jan. 31, 2028. That property has a base rent of $160,664 for 33,834 square feet.
The updated document from Gordon Brothers Retail Partners says, "An asterisk (*) next to the “Store #” indicates we are accepting backup bids," but no such markings exist next to the Lehigh Street or Macarthur Road stores.
Bids are due no later than Feb. 10, pending court approval.
Ahead of the lease sales, stores are offering closing sales.
Last week, the Lehigh Street location's windows were adorned with signs that read "store closing" and "entire store up to 40% off."
The Whitehall store advertised 10-50% off items for its "store closing" sale, but on Saturday most items were around 15-20% off, with steeper discounts for some holiday-themed decor.