The Foraker Company is closer to renovating the old Kmart building located at the intersection of Frank Phillips Blvd. and U.S. Highway 75 in Bartlesville.

Jeremy Foraker, the president for the company, said they have submitted building permits and they are gearing up to start construction once approved. He said they have signed leases with four tenants, but they have one more 11,000 square-foot space available for lease.

There could have been a way that the Foraker Company could have laid out the building to make it so that there would only be room for four tenants instead of five, but Foraker said he feels like they can get a fifth tenant once they start construction of the space.

Tenants that have signed leases so far include: Burke's Outlet, Tuesday Morning, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Dollar Tree.

At the end of September, the Bartlesville Development Authority decided to send a recommendation to the Bartlesville City Council to allocate $203,830 to Foraker Company. The recommendation would be approved by the Council on Monday, Oct. 7th, so Foraker could redevelopment the former Kmart.

Primarily, Foraker Company focuses on value-add, big box redevelopment projects in Oklahoma. Foraker said that they do expand outside the state to Texas, Arkansas and Kansas as well.

Since joining the business, Foraker said he has about 40-plus projects under his belt. Looking ahead, Foraker Company is looking at redeveloping the old Kmart facility to open the door for 5 stores that are anticipated to go into the area. So far, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Burkes Outlet, Tuesday Morning and a Dollar Tree expansion are anticipated to go into the redeveloped space.

As for the stores themselves, Ollie's Bargain Outlet is an American chain of discount retail stores founded in 1982 with 330 locations in 23 states. They deal in merchandise obtained from various retailers, suppliers or manufacturers throughout the country, whether in the form of closeouts, bankruptcy sales or other similar means of buying the stock at below wholesale costs.

As for Tuesday Morning, it is an American discount off-price retailer specializing in domestic and international, designer and name-brand closeout merchandise. The company has 700-plus stores across the U.S and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

And finally, there is Dollar Tree. This is an expansion of the Highway 75 store. This is located near Truity Credit Union and across the highway from ALDI. You can see an illustration of what might become of the old Kmart facility below.

Foraker said they will work on the redevelopment process as soon as possible. There is no set date as to when they will begin, but he said it will be soon. Foraker said they still have design work to be done, approvals to get through and building permits to acquire.

That can be a lengthy process, but Foraker said he has been in discussions with the City of Bartlesville. He said he has met everyone and has seen their excitement for the project. He said they just want to see life back inside the old Kmart facility. Foraker said he believes the City of Bartlesville will be easy to work with.