Wednesday, July 15, 2009

By AARON BURGIN

The Press-Enterprise

Murrieta's "furniture row," which has been beset by flagging sales and high-profile vacancies in recent years, recently filled its largest vacancy.

San Diego-based Mor Furniture for Less recently opened its doors in the 38,000-square-foot anchor spot of the Home Center Murrieta. The storefront has been empty since April 2008, when the now-defunct Wickes Furniture closed.

City officials, economists and other retailers said they see the opening as a sign of the business community's confidence in the city's long-term economic viability and a long-overdue pickup of furniture sales, which have lagged the upswing in home sales.

Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise
San Diego-based Mor Furniture for Less recently opened its doors in the anchor spot of the Home Center Murrieta. The site had been vacant since April 2008.

When the Home Center Murrieta opened in 2005 off Interstate 215 at the Los Alamos Road exit, it was meant to be a one-stop shop for new homebuyers.

When the housing boom went bust, furniture stores suffered. City officials said sales tax revenues from that area of town dropped from a high of $330,000 during the 2006-07 fiscal year to less than $150,000 during the first nine months of fiscal 2008-09.

The closing of Wickes sucked much of the synergy out of the center, several furniture store managers and salespeople said.

"Wickes had a lot of name recognition," said Carol Nevenhoven, a saleswoman at Beck's Furniture Store. "After it closed, some of the mom-and-pop stores in the center closed, and they said it was because they didn't have the foot traffic they did when Wickes was there."

Murrieta Economic Development Director Bruce Coleman said city officials learned about Mor's interest in the community at a recent retailers' convention in Las Vegas.

"A successful business like Mor is going to help bring new life in that center," Coleman said.

So far, the effects have been positive, according to Home Center tenants. Since Mor opened a little less than two weeks ago, stores have reported that business and foot traffic is up at their locations.
"If people from Mor come here to shop, we are going to welcome them with open arms," said Francis McTiernan, manager of Plummers Furniture. "And they have come. It is going to be good for the entire center."

Inland economist John Husing said furniture sales were primed for an upswing in the region because home sales have picked up dramatically since plunging between 2005 and 2007.

Many people have been taking advantage of a combination of low home prices and historically low interest rates, Husing said.
"It makes sense that it is a discount store opening because people are buying homes at bargain prices," Husing said.

Jane Markson, 27, is one of those new-home buyers shopping at Mor.
"Living in the city, you want the businesses to be doing well," Markson said. "This was such a prominent vacancy, and now, we have a very beautiful store."

Mor representatives were not available for comment.
Reach Aaron Burgin at 951-375-3733 or aburgin@pe.com