Original Carpetland Store Comes Down

Munster, IN, December 22, 2005--Demolition began Wednesday on the original home and headquarters of Carpetland USA, according to the Northwest Indiana Times. The chain was established in the 41,000-square-foot Munster building in 1960 by Ulrich "Rick" Meyer. He sold the chain for $100 million to Georgia-based carpet manufacturer Shaw Industries in 1996. However, Meyer retained ownership in the Munster property and leased it to Shaw, one of the many companies owned by Warren Buffet. When it was sold, Carpetland had grown to an almost nationwide chain of more than 100 stores. But four years later, the chain's corporate stores were enmeshed in a bankruptcy proceeding, and the Munster location closed permanently. Matt Fritz, Muster's assistant town manager, said Wednesday the vacant building needed substantial improvements and its owner decided it would be better to tear it down rather than spend the money to rehab it. Under a bankruptcy court order, there is a long-term lease on the property and the lessee--Shaw Industries--must pay rent to the owner, which does business under name of Chicago-based MS Partners, whether or not the building is occupied, or even exists, Fritz said. "Munster wins because we've been left with a more developable site," Fritz said. Stan Wolucka of Munster-based Wolucka and Associates, which is trying to market the site, said the structure originally was built for a particular purpose that wasn't conducive to other development. "In order to successfully market the site, it was better to take it down," he said.

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

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