Sun & Ski Sports may move into Avon space
AVON — The Avon Town Council will take action at its Tuesday meeting to approve a sales tax rebate agreement for Retail Concepts, Inc., owner of Sun & Ski Sports. Since the announced closing of Sports Authority, the town has been in discussion with Traer Creek and Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate about soliciting and retaining another retail store. As a result of the Sports Authority bankruptcy process, Sun & Ski Sports approached Traer Creek for the recently vacated space.
Sun & Ski Sports is a national retailer, owned and operated by Retail Concepts, which is based in Houston. The private company provides technical and casual, snow, cycling, running and fitness products and apparel, electronics and recreational water products. It also sells products online. Stores are currently located in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Avon’s location will be the first Colorado store. Sun & Ski also plans a new store opening this fall in Park City, Utah.
As part of the lease negotiations, the cost of refinishing the interior of the approximate 33,000 square foot retail space was estimated at $1 million. Recognizing the high cost of finishing the space, Traer Creek and Retail Concepts requested the town’s consideration of a sales tax rebate as a financial incentive. As a result of those discussions and negotiations, council members determined that attracting a replacement sports retailer in Chapel Square Plaza was a unique opportunity and a public-private partnership could land the store. As a result, the council will be asked to approve the sales tax rebate agreement.
Ten-Year Lease
The agreement would provide a maximum rebate to Retail Concepts of up to $100,000 per year for five years (a maximum rebate of $500,000). The rebate is calculated at the amount of 45 percent of the actual sales tax paid to the town by Retail Concepts. The conditions include providing evidence of a lease for a term of at least 10 years and opening the store by no later than January 15, 2017. The town’s sales tax contribution is projected to be 15 percent of the total taxes collected from Sun & Ski Sports over a 10-year period.
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“The prospect of bringing Sun & Ski into the vacated Sports Authority space was an exceptional and timely opportunity for the town of Avon and our business community,” Mayor Jennie Fancher said. “The loss of Sports Authority as a key anchor store in Chapel Square was already reverberating through other stores with actual and feared losses of sales. Landing Sun & Ski Sports required the partnership of Traer Creek, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate, Retail Concepts and the town of Avon. I am most proud to be announcing our collaborative achievement of what I believe was a ‘must do’ partnership.”
Public comment will be heard at the meeting. In addition, email comments may be sent to Avon Town Clerk Debbie Hoppe at dhoppe@avon.org by not later than 2 p.m. on Tuesday.