Plaza owner not worried about vacancies

The owner of shopping plazas in Gouverneur and Watertown where Hacketts is located believes those stores won't stay vacant and may even be home to a revitalized Hacketts in the future.

"I still believe the Hacketts business model makes a lot of sense," said Randolph B. Soggs. "Hacketts may be able to turn around this difficult situation."

Hacketts's parent company, Seaway Valley Capital Corp,. has been closing stores to help pay off a $5 million loan called in by Wells Fargo.

Hacketts already has closed in Watertown and will close soon in Gouverneur. Hacketts stores in Massena and Pulaski also closed earlier this year, and the Canton store is scheduled to close later this month. They remain open in Sackets Harbor, Tupper Lake, Ogdensburg and Potsdam, although the company recently was sued for back rent for the Potsdam location.

Soggs Commercial Properties, New Hartford, includes in its portfolio the limited liability corporations that own the Watertown and Gouverneur shopping plazas that house Hacketts. Hacketts is also behind on rent payments to Soggs.

Mr. Soggs declined to confirm rumors that he already has secured tenants for the Gouverneur and Watertown stores.

"As a practice, we don't comment on deals until they're signed. We are certainly talking to people about those locations," he said. "As we gain control over those properties, hopefully we'll be making some announcements about them but for now, Hacketts is the tenant. Right now, Hacketts has leases and has a right to tenancy. Somehow the contractual obligations have to be resolved."

Whether it's Hacketts or another retailer, Mr. Soggs predicted that both Gouverneur and Watertown will find tenants; Gouverneur because the village has few stores and Watertown because its location in the former Northland Plaza is close to residential neighborhoods.

"I believe both those locations will be filled by someone who fills those needs," he said. "I just don't know when the long-term starts."