Saturday, February 4, 2023

Crunch Fitness is open for business at former West Towne Shopko


And business seems to be off to a good start.

Photo by Retiring Guy



11/14/2022 update starts here

Photos by R3tiring Guy





11/2/2022 update stats here

Photos by Retiring Guy


The south entrance of the former Shopko building remains in a state of neglect.




9/15/2022 update, "Does Madison need another fitness center?  Apparently so.", starts here

There's something happening here.

Photos by Retiring Guy

What it is is exactly clear.


Coming soon!


5/19/2022 update, "West Towne Mall shuttered Shopko UPDATE: A sign of the past starts here".

Still not clear.

Photo by Retiring Guy



3/21/2022 update, "There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear", starts here

Photos and video by Retiring Guy

Artist & Fare represents one of the more creative reuses of the 360-plus stores that were left vacant by Shopko's March 2019 bankruptcy. The store shutdowns that June created voids that many communities still are struggling to fill. In some cases small, Midwest communities lost the only pharmacy or general merchandise store for miles. Longtime workers found new jobs and fought for years for promised severance payments. Municipalities added another parking lot and big-box to an inventory of vacant spaces following an onslaught of retail bankruptcies.




12/21/2021 update, " Shopko storefront looks less abandoned in bright winter sunlight", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy




Related posts:
Von Maur to the rescue.  (11/18/2020)
Harley-Davidson exits long-vacant Apple Store space at West Towne Mall.  (11/18/2020)
UPDATE. What does Seritage have planned for the remaining portion of Sears at West Towne Mall?  (7/1/2020)
Not so Forever 21.   (10/4/2019)
Boston Store UPDATE. While management wonders what to do with 140,000 square feet of empty space, they invite young white women to hang out.  (8/19/2019)
Can't hide the emptiness at the former Payless Shoe Source store.  (8/12/2019)
UPDATE. Space formerly occupied by Sears remains vacant.  (7/9/2019)
Wind-driven signage.   (5/1/2019)
It was 19 months ago when the Apple Store moved from West Towne to Hilldale. (5/1/2019)
Then and Now: North and south of the Beltline and east of West Towne Mall.  (4/30/2019)
Then and Now: North and south of the Beltline in the West Towne Mall area.  (4/2/2019)
Food court directory.  (9/24/2018)
UPDATE. West Towne Mall Management now prefers traffic cones to pothole repair.  (4/30/2018)
Total Wine UPDATE:  Now open for business.  (4/22/2018)

7/9/2019 update, "Doesn't take long for a look of abandonment to settle in", starts here

Photos by Retiring Guy






A property overview written in better times.

5/10/2019 update, "West Towne Mall satellite stores flicker and die", starts here.

Shopko
Photos by Retiring Guy

Stein Mart

Stein Mart closing will add to vacancies at West Towne.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 4/5/2019)
Stein Mart, a boutique-style men's and women's department store chain that opened in 2016, is closing its store next to OfficeMax.

Original 2/16/2019 post, "West Towne Mall will soon say goodbye to satellite store Shopko", starts here.

Photos and video by Retiring Guy

Shopko files for bankruptcy, will close 105 stores, including 16 in Wisconsin.  (Green Bay Press Gazette, 1/16/2019)
The two Madison stores are listed among the casualties in this article.  With an eye toward shutting down under-performing stores, the company announced that it will close 105 stores, including the company's original store at 216 S. Military Ave. in Green Bay, according to a website set up to provide information on the reorganization. 
"I started crying and said, 'Not my store,'" Green Bay resident Vicki Villers said as she shopped for greeting cards in the Military Avenue store. "My husband (Harvey Villers Jr.) and I depend on this store. We love this store. I hate to see it close."


Shopko timeline of notable events, from 1961-2019.  (Green Bay Press Gazette, 1/16/2019)
  • April 1962: The first ShopKo (the spelling was changed since the initial announcement) opens at 216 S. Military Ave
  • July 1966: ShopKo East opens at 1819 Main St.


Shopko to close 174 more stores including Monona, Watertown and Columbus.  (Wisconisn State Journal, 2/7/2019)
The announcement means that by this spring, Shopko will no longer have a presence in Dane County. In January, Shopko announced the closing of 38 stores, including its two stores in Madison on Mineral Point Road at West Towne Mall and Zeier Road on Madison’s East Side. 
That announcement came after the Ashwaubenon-based retailer said in late 2018 that it would close 39 stores. In totality, the closings will leave Shopko with just 109 stores compared to the 360 the company now lists on its website.


State says 578 Shopko employees will lose jobs when 11 stores close.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 2/14/2019)
“Shopko has been a Wisconsin institution for more than 50 years and these closures will undoubtedly change the fabric of multiple Wisconsin communities,” said DWD Secretary-designee Caleb Frostman. “These layoffs will impact hundreds of hard-working Wisconsinites across our state in several Wisconsin communities. With ever-changing consumer habits, retail workers are becoming more and more insecure in their employment.”

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