Remaining Two Louisville Borders Stores Expected to Close as Company Liquidates

After 40-years in business, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based bookseller Borders plans to liquidate.The company once operated four bookstores in Louisville, but the branches on 4th Street and South Hurstbourne were closed weeks after the company filed for Chapter 11 in February. The stores at Shelbyville Road Plaza and on Bardstown Road were to remain open through the Chapter 11 process, but will now likely close along with about 400 other branches that survived the first round of closures.The 4th Street closure left downtown Louisville without a retail anchor for 4th Street Live, and the space has not yet been filled by another occupant. The lease for the building is handled by the Baltimore-based Cordish Cos.The process is expected to move quickly, and liquidation sales at individual stores could begin later this week if a bankruptcy judge approves Borders' request for liquidation. Many analysts expect the judge to approve the request.As Reuters reports, Books-a-Million may purchase some Borders branches. The Courier-Journal reports that a liquidation would lead to the closure of the Waldenbooks stores at Oxmoor Center, Jefferson Mall and Green Tree Mall.