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Hutton, Blessing, Crossroads Mall trial set for November

Developers seek ruling that their plans don’t go against cross-easement agreement

The company seeking to build a new shopping center where the former Sears store now stands at Crossroads Mall will get a trial in November on whether its plans can move forward.

Hutton Growth LLC, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Blessing Enterprises LLC, of Missouri, in November 2016 asked the court to rule that their plans did not go against a cross-easement agreement with the mall dating back to 1963.

The pair filed the motion in Webster County District Court against Crossroads Mall 1999, LLC.

The mall’s owners have claimed the plan to demolish the former Sears store and build a new development would be against that agreement.

A trial date has been set for Nov. 14.

In January, a judge denied a motion by Neven Mulholland, a Fort Dodge attorney representing the mall’s owner, who sought to have the case thrown out because the plans were still “conceptual.”

But Hutton and Blessing have since argued to the court that “its site plan constitutes a concrete plan for demolition and development of the property,” wrote Chief District Court Judge Kurt Wilke in his order.

“While there seemed to be some ambiguity in the way the site plan was previously described in pleadings, plaintiff’s counsel has recently resolved any confusion on this issue,” Wilke wrote. “Although plaintiff has not acquired any permits for this project, under Iowa law, plaintiff is not required to wait until the eve of construction to obtain a declaratory judgment. As it stands, plaintiff is ready to move forward with their site plan as soon as this litigation has been resolved.”

Hutton and Blessing’s filing said the due diligence period set forth in their contract has already been extended, and further postponement of judicial action could delay or even cancel the project.

A timeline for the development hasn’t been publicly revealed.

Hutton has proposed a new shopping center on the former Sears site, which is owned by Blessing.

Although the old Sears store appears to be an integral part of the mall, it is a separate property with a different owner.

The Crossroads Mall is owned by J. Herzog & Sons Inc., of Denver, Colorado.

The former Sears store at 307 S. 25th St. opened in 1964 and closed in January 2016.

The 1963 agreement details various obligations owed by each property owner to the other related to parking and traffic across the two parcels, indicating that the two parcels will operate as a “single, integrated commercial development” so far as practicable.

Hutton has proposed tearing down the old Sears store and replacing it with a 74,300-square-foot building that would house eight stores. The company also proposes to put up a 7,800-square-foot building closer to Fifth Avenue South that would house a restaurant and four stores.

In October 2016 the Fort Dodge City Council took steps in moving the project forward, rezoning the site of the former Sears store and agreeing to give up public ownership of a driveway leading into the mall area from Fifth Avenue South.

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