A subsidiary of a company headquartered in Hong Kong has bought a piece of property at the Edison Mall in Fort Myers. That property includes the closed Sears store, which used to be a popular shopping spot for people from all over Lee County. And a Fort Myers council member said it's possible the Sears may be torn down to make way for housing.
Documents filed with the Lee County Clerk of Court show the following: A Florida-based subsidiary of Hopewell Holdings in Hong Kong paid $5,819,500. The money went to Seritage Growth Properties, headquartered in New York City. That company was the owner of the Sears store and surrounding parking spots.
The subsidiary is named Edison Florida Real Estate LLC. Records show Edison Florida was set up recently by Sau Ping Kwok, who sits on the board of directors of Hopewell Holdings.
She is married to Sir Gordon Wu, Hopewell's founder and board chairman.
Gordon Wu was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in the 1990s to honor his efforts in building roads and infrastructure in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. Various business publications in Asia and the U.S. describe Wu as one of the richest men in Hong Kong.
Hopewell, through Edison Florida, now owns the closed Sears store and some of the parking areas around it. The Sears building is located on the northwest part of Edison Mall, near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Winkler Avenue.
Sears closed its doors at Edison Mall in the winter of 2020.
Fort Myers Councilman Fred Burson said he met recently with representatives of the new owners. He said they told him they'd like to tear down the Sears building and put up multi-family housing on the site and the surrounding parking areas.
Burson said the new owners have not yet presented plans to the city, nor have they applied for permits. But Burson did indicate the representatives of Hopewell also have had some meetings with Fort Myers city staff members.
The councilman said it's not yet clear whether Hopewell wants to put up apartments or condominiums, or a combination of the two.