The recently shuttered Kmart [at Broadway Center] in Merrillville is getting a new occupant.
Town and construction company officials confirmed Tuesday that the store at 101 Lincoln Highway is being transformed into an At Home store, described on its website as a home decor superstore.
At Home officials could not be reached for comment, but the website for the Plano, Texas, company said it sells home furnishings, patio furniture, wall decor and decorative accents, rugs and housewares.
Sheila Shine, with Merrillville’s planning department, said Lewisville, Texas-based Parkway Construction pulled a permit to do interior and exterior work at the former Kmart on Jan. 13.
“Work has already started. The store will probably open around the end of May,” said Jeff Pierce, construction superintendent with Parkway Construction.
He said workers will remodel the entire interior of the building, increasing the sales area, and will make a new entry at the front of the new store.
According to a store locater map on At Home’s website, the company currently has three stores in Indiana, two in Indianapolis and one in Noblesville, and three in Illinois, in Schaumburg, Aurora and downstate O’Fallon.
Pierce said he doesn’t know if At Home intends to add more stores in the area.
The company announced in early January that it expects net sales from the fiscal year ending on Jan. 28 to increase about 22 percent to a range of $758 million to $761 million.
The Merrillville Kmart shut its doors in mid-December after 40 years at that location as part of the latest round of store closings announced by the beleaguered discount retailer.
