Manassas Journal Messenger | Hi-Mart to auction off retail space lease on eBay
Hi-Mart, at Station Plaza in Woodbridge, is going live on eBay today.
A year’s lease on retail space will hit the auction block at 3 p.m., said Joon Park, vice president of operations at the international market at Gordon Boulevard and U.S. 1.
Though not as glamourous as a grilled-cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary, which sold on the online auction for $28,000 in November, retail space at the mini-mall could be a good deal.
Bidding starts at $1, with no other restrictions.
“We really are auctioning it without any minimum price,” Park said.
A one year lease at the mini-mart averages about $15,000, Park said.
The auction will remain open for seven days, Park said.
Partners in the store got the idea to auction space when some of their tenants started selling their wares online.
“We’ve had a lot of eBay discussions lately,” Park said.
They figured if eBay were a good way to sell goods, maybe it would be a good way to sell a lease
Park describes Hi-Mart as a “Big Box” style mall where each store is individually owned and operated.
There are 130 retail spaces available in the building that once housed a K-Mart.
Currently 85 retailers,with merchandise from around the world, rent space in the mall, Joon said.
“We’re supposed to be something for everyone when we’re all done,” Park said.
The successful bidder will have to come in and talk to the partners at Hi-Mart and sign a full-service one-year lease, Park said.
“It’s only valuable if you’re thinking of coming in and using the space to put a retail store there,” Park said.