Washington Prime to Convert Former Sears into Healthcare Distribution Center

Washington Prime Group intends to convert the former Sears location in Morgantown Mall in Morgantown as a logistics, distribution and fulfillment center for the West Virginia University Medicine network.

The company has signed a letter of intent to use the mall space to process, store, and provide logistics solutions with the university’s network. Washington Prime Group is a retail REIT that was formed in 2014 and owns, manages and develops retail properties. West Virginia University Medicine, also known as the West Virginia University Health System, is the state’s largest healthcare system and has eleven hospitals and five institutes throughout the state. The network also provides management services to hospitals and medical centers in Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

This new venture is part of the company’s new Fulventory initiative, which was launched in the first half of 2020. The Fulventory initiative is emblematic of a larger trend in the industrial market, spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, where companies are repurposing more space as distribution and logistics centers to store extra stock to meet demand. Across the country, companies are looking for more warehouse space for storage and logistics, even in urban centers.

Described as the “last mile fulfillment solution,” Fulventory also takes into account the option for consumers to buy online and pick-up or return purchased items in stores by offering different space options at a cheaper rental price tag for retailers. Instead of being charged full price for a retail storefront, companies would be charged rental rates for last-mile fulfillment spaces. Sizes of fulfillment centers range from “small” at 675 square feet to “large” at 2,500 square feet. Companies can also use the spaces for inventory clearance. Companies can design a space themselves or use Fulventory’s space-planning staff.

Lou Conforti, CEO of Washington Prime Group, said the utilization of the space in Morgantown Mall shows that the “viability” of the Fulventory initiative.