Company hired to sell all Elder-Beerman/Bon-Ton real estate

A former Elder-Beerman store in Centerville, which became a Kroger store. FILE

A former Elder-Beerman store in Centerville, which became a Kroger store. FILE

Elder-Beerman appears to be entering the final stages of its winding-down process.

Since early February, Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., the Elder-Beerman stores parent company, has been mired in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Melville, N.Y.-based A&G Realty Partners has been retained to dispose of all of Bon-Ton’s real estate’s assets on behalf of a joint venture between Great American Group, Tiger Capital Group, LLC and Bon-Ton’s debt holders, A&G said in a statement.

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The group acquired the bankrupt retailer’s assets last month after submitting a winning bid to a U.S. bankruptcy court.

“All told, the retail real estate assets include 157 department stores at regional malls, 39 locations in open-air shopping centers, 16 freestanding stores, as well as nine furniture galleries and two clearance stores,” A&G said. “Most of the company's department stores range from 80,000 to 125,000 square feet, with some as large as 200,000 square feet.”

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Bon-Ton’s history is anchored in Dayton, with Elder-Beerman growing from a Dayton dry goods store to one of downtown’s great emporiums before a decades-long dirge through bankruptcies and quarterly losses culminated in this year’s bankruptcy process.

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Bon-Ton has a major presence in the Dayton region. Along with its Fairborn distribution center, there are Elder-Beerman stores across the region in Dayton, Huber Heights, Kettering, Piqua and Beavercreek.

Bon-Ton, which has more than $1 billion in debt, hasn’t been profitable since 2010.

New York-based Bon-Ton operates 250 stores, which includes nine furniture galleries and four clearance centers, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates.

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