A sign installed outside the former Shopko building in Marshall advertised two more retail tenants, Big Lots and Marshalls. Work is already going on inside the building, as Harbor Freight Tools prepares to open a store on the property.

MARSHALL — Two new businesses coming to Marshall were revealed this week, as workers installed a new sign outside the former Shopko building. The building will not only be home to a new Harbor Freight Tools store, but a Big Lots and a Marshalls, the sign said.

Marshall Economic Development Authority director Lauren Deutz said she didn’t yet know how soon the three stores would open, but the news was another step toward filling a large commercial space in Marshall.

“Repurposing the former Shopko building has been a priority for the city, so we are excited to see the project coming together,” Deutz said.

Construction inside the old Shopko began earlier this spring, after Harbor Freight announced it planned to open a store in Marshall. The plan for the building is to divide it into spaces for three commercial tenants.

The former Shopko location in Marshall has been empty since 2019, when the retail chain went into liquidation. Woodcrest Capital bought the property at auction two years later.

“When Woodcrest Capital purchased the property in 2021, the plan had always been to create a retail shopping center with multiple tenants,” Deutz said Wednesday. “This created a great opportunity to bring in a nice mix of tenants that could meet the region’s retail needs. We were surprised by the amount of interest we had in the project and are pleased to be able to bring three new national brand tenants into Marshall.”

Headquartered in Ohio, Big Lots is a retailer with more than 1,400 locations across the U.S. According to the company’s website, the Marshall store will be only the third Big Lots location in Minnesota. The other two locations are in Albert Lea and Blaine.

Marshalls is one of the off-price apparel and home fashion store chains, along with T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Sierra and Homesense, operated by The TJX Companies, Inc. According to the company’s website, TJX has over 4,000 stores worldwide. Currently, the closest Marshalls locations to Marshall are in Sioux Falls and Hutchinson.

Deutz said she did not yet have definite timelines for when the new stores would open. In March, Harbor Freight spokespeople said the opening of the Marshall store was planned sometime this spring.

Although Marshall is a small market in the retail world, the community benefits from being a regional center that draws people in, Deutz said.

“Marshall’s pull factor remains high, and we continue to support a large retail trade area,” she said. “Our traffic counts and regional draw support demonstrate the need for additional shopping options and the ability to support them.”