The Sears located at 11255 New Hampshire Ave in White Oak closed its doors in early 2021. It has been sitting vacant for three years, but now there’s light at the end of the tunnel as the property was approved at a recent Board of Public Works meeting for a $2 million grant from the National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund, according to a Maryland Newsletters report.
This grant should help improve efforts to attract a quality tenant to the space. According to the report, the award description indicates that the funds can be applied broadly for the renovation, repair, or redevelopment of both the larger main store and the standalone auto center. The former Sears store encompasses 268,394 SF, while the auto center covers 29,027 SF, all situated on a 7.09-acre property.
A brief history of the store, from a Forbes article states that “the Silver Spring Sears opened in early 1966 and stands as a symbol of the company’s suburban initiatives. It’s a stand-alone store, not located within a mall. There was a time when Sears carried practically everything. It didn’t need to attach itself to an enclosed shopping mall.”