Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse plans to open an 85,000-square-foot store at Sawgrass Mills shopping center, which would make the store the eighth anchor at the 2 million-square-foot mall.
Despite the name, Burlington plans to sell other things besides coats: men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, along with children’s furniture. It will also have a linen, bed and bath department.
“This will have the best and hottest merchandise, not discards that didn’t sell,” said President Monroe Milstein, speaking from company headquarters in Burlington, N.J.
The store will open in October and employ about 100.
The publicly held company is in the middle of an expansion program, and it operates 188 off-price outlets in 40 states. Other Florida stores are in the Orlando and Jacksonville areas.
The store is expected to fill a space that has been vacant since Sawgrass Mills opened in fall 1990. The space was tied up after Utah-based 49th Street Galleria filed for Chapter 11 and couldn’t follow through on its plans to build a center, including a bowling alley and miniature golf course.
Another anchor, Phar-Mor drugstore, closed this month. The parent company is also in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. With the uncovering of a financial scandal, the company discovered it was operating stores that were losing money.
