GOODING'S, LANDLORD SPAR OVER CENTER'S CONDITION

JON SPRINGER

ORLANDO, Fla. - The developer of a Florida shopping center denied charges that its actions resulted in Gooding's Supermarkets' bankruptcy, saying the retailer's financial troubles are of its own doing.

Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Development here, told SN that a Gooding's store that opened in June at the developer's Water Tower Place shopping center in Celebration, Fla., closed because of poor sales, and not because of signage and visibility complaints levied by Gooding's in its bankruptcy petition and in a separate lawsuit.

Gooding's, also based here, filed for protection under Chapter 11 on Dec. 30, citing debts of $10.2 million, including more than $4 million related to construction debts for the Water Tower Place store, which closed in October.

In court papers, Gooding's claimed the Chapter 11 filing "comes primarily as a result of business losses and cash flow drain related to the opening and closing" of the Celebration store, which struggled "after landlords failed to cure defaults asserted by Gooding's regarding visibility and signage issues required under the lease."

Gooding's said it filed a separate lawsuit demanding reimbursement for all costs associated with the construction of the Water Tower Place store.

"We think the lawsuit is unfounded and unjustified," Whittall said. "We gave them what was agreed to in the lease, and [Gooding's] agreed to the site plan."

The developer said he is shopping the former Gooding's site to other perspective tenants.

Neither a spokesperson for Gooding's nor the retailer's bankruptcy lawyer was available for comment.

Gooding's is not the only merchant to have lodged complaints against the developer of Water Tower Place, located just outside the master-planned, Disney-built community of Celebration. An article in the Lakeland Ledger newspaper in October said an owner of a florist shop in the center also complained of inadequate signage.

Another Water Tower Place merchant, who asked not to be identified, told SN that he understood Gooding's was unhappy because an events pavilion placed in the parking lot restricted vehicle access to the store and blocked visibility of the storefront, adding that "the pavilion has not even been utilized." Other tenants have complained that the developer has not done enough to attract shoppers to the center with highway signs, the merchant said.

In bankruptcy papers, Gooding's said it intends to continue to operate its other supermarket locations in Orlando and Lake Buena Vista, Fla., as well as its catering business.