By Shereen Siewert

HOM Furniture has completed its purchase of the former Younkers space at Wausau Center mall and expects to open in March, according to City Council President Lisa Rasmussen.

In November, HOM purchased the property at 300 Forest St. in Wausau from private owners S & B Detrick Limited Partnership, of Delaware. The final purchase price has not been disclosed.

Remodeling efforts are already underway.

In October, HOM approached city officials to receive a necessary estoppel letter to facilitate the sale. An Estoppel Letter is a document often used in due diligence in real estate and mortgage activities that is signed by a tenant used in his or her landlord’s proposed transaction with a third party. The letter was necessary because under the terms of the original mall agreement, the city owns the ground underneath the mall and the air above the property. The property owners then pay a ground lease to Wausau and have various obligations to keep the city informed or get the city’s permission to make any changes.

Bon-Ton, the parent company of Younkers, closed the store earlier this year.

HOM Furniture is one of the nation’s largest furniture retailers serving customers in the upper Midwestern states of Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.