BIDS OPENED ON FORMER HARDWARE STORE

Sealed bids on the 85,000-square-foot building that previously housed Central Hardware in Cape Girardeau were opened by Benjamin E. Sherman and Sons in Chicago Thursday.

"We had nine bids," said David J. Hyman, managing broker and senior vice president of Sherman and Sons, who is selling the property owned by Spirit Holding Co. "The winning bid will be announced early next week when we have a contract on the property."

Spirit Holding Co. offered the building and a 7.15-acre site by sealed auction with the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Central Hardware, based at Bridgeton, Mo., announced in May 1993 that it was closing a dozen of its 39 stores. One of the stores closed is the one being sold in Cape Girardeau.

Along with its parent company, Spirit Holding Co., and sister company, Witte Hardware Co., Central Hardware filed for bankruptcy protection in March 1993. The companies at that time employed 3,800 people, with about 1,400 of those in the St. Louis area and 100 in Cape Girardeau.

Central Hardware operated home-improvement stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee.