Work continues on new Circuit City on Route 132, despite company pullbacks

HYANNIS, Oct 09, 2008 (Cape Cod Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Construction crews continue to work at the site of the new Circuit City on Route 132, even as the company's finances have taken a dive and company officials announced plans to review their business, hold off on new stores starting, and likely delay some scheduled openings.

Company spokeswoman Jennifer Still declined to say whether the Hyannis opening, planned for this winter, was among those that could be delayed, but she did say the company had not announced plans to abandon construction.

Circuit city lost about $240 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30.

Over the last month, its stock, already under $2, plummeted to close at 42 cents yesterday. Its chairman and chief executive officer, Philip J. Schoonover, was replaced two weeks ago.

Acting CEO Jame A Marcum told the Wall Street Journal last week that the company is exploring all of its options including finding a buyer or closing some of its existing 1,486 stores in the United States.

Yet work has continued on the new 23,500-square-foot building, under construction near the airport rotary at the former site of Rogers and Gray Insurance and the Star City Grille.

Developers say they are planning to have the store up and running by January, according to Charles Robinson, president of Rogers and Gray, which still owns part of the property.

Officials at Berkshire Development, the project developer that has leased the property, did not return calls for comment yesterday.

"I went by there about two hours ago and noticed they're putting in shrubs and landscaping," Robinson said yesterday. "All I know is that ... Circuit City is going full tilt. They want to open for the holiday season. ... I haven't heard from anybody to the contrary."

Until it hears of such plans, the Cape Cod Commission, which approved the project earlier this year after much debate, will continue to move forward with permitting.

At the request of the project developer, commission staff plan to schedule a site inspection over the next few weeks, said Andrea Adams, a senior regulatory planner for the commission. Once the project is complete and it passes inspection, the town of Barnstable can issue a certificate of use, allowing the store to open, Adams said.

Commission staff have not yet determined what would happen should Circuit City pull the project, Adams said. Berkshire, the project developer, would still own the lease over the property, and would likely have to find another tenant, said Robinson, of Rogers and Gray.

The project originally raised traffic concerns among Barnstable officials, commission members and area residents. But the town worked out a deal with Berkshire to spend $800,000 to help purchase the former Chili's restaurant property on the Airport Rotary, along with a Wendy's restaurant parking lot across Route 132. In addition to road improvements, the Chili's land is to be set aside for open space after the building is demolished. The deal also disallowed any future development and extra traffic in the area, according to Times archives.

Depending on the new tenant, the project could then be subject once again to review by the town zoning board and the Cape Cod Commission.

"I'm not sure nervous is the word, but I'm concerned," Robinson said.

"But, something will happen. ... That's a very valuable piece of property. There may be some bumps in the road, but at some point, somebody's going to want to put something (there)."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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