Old Raleigh Kmart set for big transformation

• Kmart, once a mainstay of the American department store industry, closed its last full-scale U.S. store in October.

Context: The property sits at the intersection of Western Boulevard and the Interstate 440 interchange, and is one of the few large pieces of land available near the beltline with potentially tens of thousands of vehicle trips per day.

• The Kmart there closed in 2018.

Driving the news: CityPlat bought the property at 4500 Western Blvd. earlier this month for $14 million, according to Wake County property records. The Triangle Business Journal first reported the sale.

Zoom in: CityPlat has been one of the Triangle's most active developers in recent years. It owns several properties on Hillsborough Street, including the old Arby's property, as well as downtown, like the site of Legends Nightclub.

• In the near term, CityPlat plans to renovate the existing building and parking lot and bring retailers back to the property, CityPat Principal Nikita Zhitov told the Triangle Business Journal.
• Longer term, he added, the goal is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the property into a mixed-use development.