It's official: Von Maur to leave Sycamore Mall in 2013

(Corrected in paragraph 3 to indicate that Jennifer Neumann is not a Von Maur spokesperson. She is cooperating with a Von Maur spokesperson)

The Von Maur department store chain plans to leave Sycamore Mall in June 2013, according to a mall spokeswoman.

Mall spokeswoman Jennifer Neumann said terms of an agreement that include the move-out date has been reached by Core Realty Holdings of Newport Beach, Calif., the owner of Sycamore Mall, and Davenport-based Von Maur.

Neumann, of de Novo Alternative Marketing, Cedar Rapids, said she has been working with a Von Maur spokesman on the transition.

The disclosure confirms what many in Iowa City have expected since Von Maur announced plans to open a larger store in the City of Coralville's Iowa River Landing development, where it will receive the equivalent of a free shell building and parking.

Neumann said Sycamore Mall is making plans to turn the Von Maur departure into a positive.

"Sycamore Mall is looking at this as their next opportunity," Neumann said. She said the mall is working to recruit another anchor tenant, with expectations that it will secure an anchor tenant that is new and exciting to the area.

Sycamore Mall is also working to improve Sycamore Mall's ties with the Iowa City community, Neumann added.

The rich incentive package offered by the City of Coralville to attract Von Maur has provoked an outcry, because it will be funded by more than $9.5 million in tax increment financing. Von Maur's deal with Coralville even provides for payments by the City of Coralville to compensate Von Maur if it has to pay Sycamore Mall to get out of its lease early.

Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said he doesn't know the details of Von Maur's move-out arrangement with Sycamore Mall, and therefore can't tell if the city will be obligated to pay on the promise.

"It's really just the way it's worked out," that will decide whether the city has an obligation, Hayworth said.

The maximum payment the City of Coralville could be obligated to make for early termination of Von Maur's Sycamore Mall lease is $650,000, according to an Oct. 10, 2011, addendum to the purchase and sale agreement which would transfer the Iowa River Landing site to Von Maur through an intermediary, OliverMcMillan. OliverMcMillan is the city's development partner for Iowa River Landing.

The agreement is contingent on Von Maur buying the property from the city, however. The purchase has not been concluded.

Hayworth repeated previous assertions by city leaders that the City of Coralville cannot be blamed for Von Maur's departure from Sycamore Mall because the department store chain was already seeking an alternate location when it was approached by the city.

The Von Maur relocation has become one of the focal points in ongoing debate over bills in the Iowa General Assembly to limit the uses of tax increment financing.

The City of Coralville maintains that the 85,000-square-foot Von Maur store will be worth the city's investment because it will provide an anchor to draw other retailers to Iowa River Landing.

The first phase of Iowa River Landing is expected to involve $100 million in investments, including a new University of Iowa Healthcare outpatient medical facility, and a private microbrewery and restaurant, Backpocket Brewing Co.