Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., a New Jersey-based home merchandise and furnishings retailer, is close to securing space at Franklin Park Mall for its first store in the Spokane area, says Lance Taylor, a Dallas-based development partner with P.OB. Montgomery & Co., which owns the North Side retail center.


Bed, Bath & Beyond is expected to sign a lease this week for a 36,000-square-foot space at Franklin Park Mall, and it could open a store there before the Christmas shopping season begins, Taylor says.


P.OB. Montgomery has applied for a building permit from the city of Spokane to remodel the portion of the mall that Bed, Bath & Beyond is expected to lease. The mall owner hopes to start work on that project later this month and complete it in October, Taylor says.


Musil Group Architects, of Portland, is doing the design work for the remodel, and Citadel Construction Inc., of Spokane, will be the general contractor.


The Bed, Bath & Beyond store would take the space between a Rite Aid store and an Outback Steakhouse restaurant in the retail center, which is along the east side of Division between Rowan and Central avenues.


The malls main entrance and a handful of small interior shops previously had been located in the space Bed, Bath & Beyond would take. Excluding that space, the interior portion of the mall still includes between 20,000 and 25,000 square feet of retail space for small shops. Four shops currently are in business there. P.OB. Montgomery already has opened a new main entrance to that area, between the Outback Steakhouse and a Julies Hallmark store.


Bed, Bath & Beyond will have an outdoor storefront facing Division, as do the malls other large tenants, which include Rite Aid, Outback Steakhouse, Ross Dress for Less, and Old Country Buffet.


P.OB. Montgomery has said the mall needs to be modernized. In addition to the interior remodel for Bed, Bath & Beyond, Taylor says P.OB. Montgomery plans to paint the exterior of the entire retail center, except for the two-story, 100,000-square-foot Montgomery Ward & Co. store thats connected to the north end of the retail center, but is owned separately by Wards. P.OB. Montgomery also plans to erect a new, more modern sign along Division that will display the names of the retail centers major tenants, Taylor says.


P.OB. Montgomery bought the 274,000-square-foot Franklin Park Mall in late 1998.


A representative of Bed, Bath & Beyond couldnt be reached for comment. The companys web site says it operates more than 250 stores nationwide, including four in the Seattle area. The stores sell a variety of home merchandise, including linens, bath towels, blankets, rugs, dinnerware, and other items typically used in the bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen.