MILTON — Bealls Department Store in the Parkmore Plaza, located off U.S. Highway 90 in Milton, is closing.
The decision to shutter the Milton location stems from failure to renew a lease, according to a Bealls Inc. public information representative.
Bill Webster, the company’s director of public and government affairs, said the company let the lease expire after the store and Parkmore Plaza owners could not agree on renewal terms.
Many regular Bealls shoppers are disappointed in the store’s closing.
“It’s sad that they are doing this,” said Sylvia Crain of Milton. “It is one of the better clothing stores in our area. It was a plus for Milton.”
Pace resident Sandra Hunt agreed.
“It was a good place to go for clothing and gifts,” she said. “We need some more shopping here in Milton.”
While no closing date has been announced, Webster said the lease expires Sept. 12.
Waterstone Retail Inc., a privately owned real estate company, owns and manages Parkmore Plaza, according to the Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser’s website.
Parkmore is one of two Florida retail properties that the company manages, according to Waterstoneretail.com. The other listed retail property is located in Pensacola.
A Waterstone representative did not return calls before our deadline, but a lease plan on the Waterstone website shows the Bealls store vacating the plaza.
The website also suggests the Parkmore Plaza section has ‘Major redevelopment planned for 2017.’
While the Bealls Department Store in Milton is closing, Santa Rosa County still has another Bealls location in Gulf Breeze. Pensacola also has a Bealls.
And Bealls Inc. will continue to have a presence in Milton with a Bealls Outlet location, which is affiliated under the same company.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Bealls in Milton to close