Nov. 19--Another major retailer has plans to leave Music City Mall.

Bealls will be next in line behind Mervyns and Friedmans Jewelers. Bealls marketing manager Kim Bell said she couldn't divulge where this branch will go yet because lease details are still being ironed out, but it will stay in Odessa.

She said company officials starting discussing the move last fiscal year.

Mall manager Roy Allen said ICA Properties has already secured a tenant for to fill Bealls' spot. He wouldn't say who, adding that he has several retailers interested in taking over for Mervyns and Friedmans.

"Even with all these stores gone, we're still going to be 85 percent leased," Allen said Tuesday.

Allen said Music City Mall is still on solid ground.

"The mall is paid for, and we've got lots of good tenants in there," he said.

Allen said Mervyns and Friedmans are closing stores nationwide. He's not sure why Bealls is leaving.

"They claim they want a free-standing location," Allen said.

He said all three stores have had good sales volume during their time at MCM, and bringing in new tenants will breathe new life into the shopping center.

"We'll get some folks in that aren't currently in Odessa," he said.

Officials of other mall stores recently dispelled more closure rumors. Spokespeople for Dillard's and J.C. Penney said the stores in Odessa are not up for closing.

J.C. Penney spokesman Tim Lyons said stores in Midland, Fort Stockton and Hobbs, N.M., are also safe, attributing any news to the contrary as "wild rumor."

"As far as I know, we're not closing any stores," he said. "We're going full-steam ahead."

Assistant Music City Mall manager Jerry Penick said recently that he knows of no other stores planning to leave the mall. In fact, both Penick and Allen said announcements about new mall tenants would be made after the first of the year -- and after the all-important holiday shopping season.

"Our market is different than everybody else," he said. "Ours is a very strong and vibrant retail market. Most of the national retailers we have in the mall are among the strongest in their organizations."

That assessment seemed to be echoed by some non-mall retailers.

Spokesman Craig Fishel said Home Depot stores in Odessa and Midland are strong, despite store closures announced this year elsewhere in the nation.

"We're not closing. We're not going anywhere," he said. "We're right in the middle of the holiday season. Everything's rockin' and rollin'."

Things didn't sound so positive at Office Depot.

"Because of the current challenging economic environment, Office Depot is looking at all of our assets and will continue to review all underperforming stores," spokeswoman Melissa Perlman said last week in an e-mail. "However, we have not announced any plans publicly to close any stores in Texas."

While the Linens 'N Things in Midland is slated to close with the rest of the chain's stores, no such announcement has been made for the Pier 1 Imports there.

"We announce (closings) throughout the year as they occur," spokeswoman Whitney Rogers said. "At this time, there haven't been any."

OA staff writer Geoff Folsom contributed to this report.

AT A GLANCE:

--What: Bealls has plans to leave Music City Mall.

--When: Company officials are keeping mum about the details. They started discussing a move last fiscal year.

--Why: Mall manager Roy Allen said store officials have said they want a free-standing location.

-----

To see more of the Odessa American, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.oaoa.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Odessa American, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:DDS, NYSE:JCP, NYSE:HD, NYSE:ODP, NYSE:PIR,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.