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Artegon Marketplace will be closing end of January

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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Artegon Marketplace will be closing its doors in two weeks, Eyewitness News has learned.

Eyewitness News reported about the sale of Artegon Marketplace in October.

The Bass Pro Shop and the Cinemark theater will remain open, but the other retailers in the marketplace will close their stores Jan. 26, officials confirm.

Lightstone Group, which owns Artegon, put the mall up for sale in August.

Lightstone said in a statement Thursday to Eyewitness News: “Lightstone will be taking its Artegon Marketplace property in a new direction. While it was a difficult decision to discontinue operations, we are thankful to our team in Orlando, and to our tenants, for their hard work and dedication over the past several years.”

Bill Kilby manages Wild Florida Honey and said business is slow throughout the week, but not on weekends.

“We’ve been here since day 1, which is Nov. 2014. I’ve been here for the whole two and a half years,” Kiby said.

Eyewitness News reported in October that a new theme park is considering coming to come to Orlando after he found out about a plan to sell the Artegon Marketplace, plus 70 acres of land on International Drive.

Kilby said many of the vendors found out Thursday morning the marketplace was shutting down.

“(I’ll) look for more work. We’re going to look for another location similar to a small mall,” Kilby said.

Artegon replaced the failed Festival Bay Mall.

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