Sears Holdings Corp. has completed the sale of 11 Sears full-line stores, including the store in Rochester’s Apache Mall, to General Growth Properties for $270 million.

Sears, which made the announcement Tuesday, has received the sale proceeds, and the stores will continue to operate as Sears locations into 2013 or 2014, with final closing dates to be determined and announced later this year, it said.

Each of the Sears stores was part of an existing General Growth property. Chicago-based General Growth owns Apache Mall and more than 130 regional shopping malls nationwide.

The 113,000-square-foot Rochester store is one of the Apache Mall’s anchors.

Sears Holding Corp., which operates Sears and Kmart, suffered a loss of $3.1 billion for its fiscal year 2011, compared with the previous year’s net income of $133 million.

General Growth says the properties represent “a significant opportunity to recapture valuable real estate within our portfolio.”

The Apache Mall store is the only Sears property in Minnesota on the list of closings. Two stores in Iowa, in Council Bluffs and Coralville, also are on the list.

Sears apparently won’t be deserting Rochester entirely. Advertisements in the Post-Bulletin show that Sears is hosting a public meeting Wednesday looking for people to own and operate a Sears Hometown Store in Rochester.

The Hometown Store has a smaller footprint than full Sears department stores, focusing on Craftsmen tools, appliances, lawn gear electronics and fitness equipment. Austin, Albert Lea, Winona and Owatonna all have Sears Hometown Stores.  (Source: Post Bulletin)