PROVIDENCE — The owners of Ocean State Job Lot have purchased a Seekonk shopping plaza on Highland Avenue for $19.3 million, according to land records.
OSJ of Seekonk, a Massachusetts LLC registered under the Ocean State Job Lot headquarters in North Kingstown, made the purchase in late December.
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The 15.5 acre parcel at 35 Highland Ave. is the site of a shuttered Bed, Bath & Beyond, which was adjacent to Harbor Freight Tools, Mattress Firm Seekonk, Petco, JOANN Fabric and Crafts and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Ocean State Job Lot has a nearby Seekonk location down Route 6 near Interstate I-195 at 150 Highland Ave.
In a statement, an Ocean State Job Lot spokesperson confirmed the purchase and said that the company had bought the property “as a real estate investment.”
Bed, Bath & Beyond announced in August it would close about 150 of its namesakes stores and slash its workforce by 20%. It also lined up more than $500 million in new financing.
On Jan. 26 Bed, Bath & Beyond said it was in default on its loans and didn’t have sufficient funds to repay what it owed. The company had previously warned on Jan. 5 that it was considering options including filing for bankruptcy, saying that there was “substantial doubt” that it could stay in business. A week later, it reported a 33% drop in sales and a widening loss for its fiscal third quarter that ended Nov. 26, compared with the year-ago period. Sales at stores opened at least a year — a key indicator of a company’s health — dropped 32%.
In 2023, Bed Bath & Beyond announced Feb. 7 it will be shuttering 150 more “lower-producing” stores it worked to stay afloat. That announcement came after the company based in Union, New Jersey, said it had raised about $1 billion through offerings of preferred stock and warrants to purchase the company’s common stock. The funds were be used to help pay off its debt, the company said.
The shuttered Seekonk location was one of 12 Massachusetts stores the company is closing. The other Massachusetts locations closing include North Dartmouth, Raynham, North Attleboro, Dedham, Hudson, Burlington, Leominster, Milford, Hadley and Pittsfield.
The two Bed Bath & Beyond stores in Middletown and Warwick are still open.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
