After months of waiting, dozens of people who were employed at the Crossings Mall Kmart in Elkview were laid off this week.
Devastating floods last June wiped out the only access to the shopping center, and many of the store's 95 employees were transferred to other Kmarts in the area until a new bridge could be built.
However, with no established timeframe for installing a new bridge, eight months after the floods, a Kmart spokesman said in a statement that the company "unfortunately made a decision to separate the associates who worked at the Kmart Elkview store, effective February 22."
"Despite the diligent efforts of Kmart and the other tenants in the mall, there remains no progress on rebuilding the bridge so that the mall and stores can reopen," said Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications at Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart.
He said associates who are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores.
Sears Holdings announced earlier this year that it was closing 150 Sears and Kmart stores across the country, including five in West Virginia. The Sears anchor store at the Charleston Town Center mall is among them, set to close in mid-April.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said he was contacted by one of the affected Kmart employees earlier this week. Carper said the employee told him that nearly 70 workers received "pink slips."
"My understanding is, those jobs they were given have been pulled now," Carper said.
Riefs' statement said Kmart plans to reopen the Crossings Mall location, after a new bridge is built and operations can resume.
A hearing scheduled next week in Clarksburg will lay the groundwork for the future of the Elkview shopping center.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patrick Flatley held a telephone conference Wednesday between counsel for Tara Retail Group, which owns Crossings Mall, and its lender, a pool of institutional investors known as COMM 2013-CCRE12 Mortgage Trust.
During the call, Flatley addressed what he called a "flurry of activity in this case."
Several motions have been filed since Tara Retail filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 24.
Flatley decided to rule on those motions at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Clarksburg on March 2.
Two motions filed by the lender seek relief from an automatic stay that was enacted when the mall's owner first filed for bankruptcy.
If granted, the relief from stay would allow the receiver, Martin Perry, to continue efforts to construct a new bridge into Crossings Mall while the bankruptcy proceedings are under way. The lender also filed a motion to dismiss the case entirely.
In contrast, Tara Retail filed a motion seeking approval from the judge to obtain post-petition financing from Applied Construction Solutions Inc., in the amount of $1 million.
If granted, Tara Retail would have the ability to use that financing toward building the new bridge.
"Tara is informed and believes that, within 12 months after the shopping mall reopens, the monthly rent roll will be restored to pre-flood levels," the motion says.
After some deliberation Wednesday, Flatley decided that he will first consider the lender's motion to dismiss at next week's hearing, followed by the motion for relief from the automatic stay and the motion by Tara for post-petition financing.
"It makes sense to me to address all these together," Flatley said.
If he decides to dismiss the case, that would nullify the remaining motions under consideration.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.