Shopko’s optical store moves to new River Falls location

Since late May, the former Shopko property in River Falls has sat vacant save for the optical business. But as of this week, the entire site will be empty as Shopko Optical moves to a new location at 1674 Commerce Court.

Meanwhile, it is unclear what will become of the former Shopko site at 1777 Paulson Road. The property is managed by Raider Hill Advisors, a private retail real estate investment and advisory firm based in New York City, but the site is owned by 1777 Paulson Road LLC, according to St. Croix County tax records. The property has an estimated market value of almost $3.4 million, according to tax records.

“We have a contact with Raider Hill Advisors, who owns the Shopko property, and we are always in constant contact with them,” said Keri Schrenier, River Falls economic development specialist. “Whenever we have a lead, we send it to Raider Hill since they are the owners of the property.”

Raider Hills Advisors did not respond to a request for comment.

Shopko, a retailer that once had more than 360 stores in 24 states, declared bankruptcy in January. While the River Falls location initially was not on the list of store closings, it too was forced to shut down after the company announced it could not find a buyer for its properties.New York-based Monarch Alternative Capital announced in a May press release that it had acquired Shopko’s optical business, which includes almost 80 stores including the location in River Falls.