It looks as if Dillard's could be out and J.C. Penney Co. could be in at the Rushmore Crossing shopping center, according to the Web site for the firm that is marketing the shopping center to tenants.

And Barnes & Noble has disappeared from the list of prospective tenants in the new center.

The new site plan, posted by Katz & Associates, now lists J.C. Penney in the anchor space at the west end of the Rushmore Crossing lifestyle district. That space on the site plan had been occupied by Dillard's department store until this week.

According to the map key, J.C. Penney has signed a letter of intent for the 105,000-square-foot store space.

Other than the Katz site plan, however, there's no confirmation that J.C. Penney intends to move to the new shopping center. In fact, the developer of Rushmore Crossing, John Silverman of Midland Atlantic Properties, said Friday that he knows of no agreements with J.C. Penney.

"I'm the only guy who signs leases, and I haven't seen anything like that," he said. Although he didn't acknowledge Dillard's by name, he said his company has a letter of intent with another tenant for that site, and the letter is still in effect.

Over the past several months, Dillard's has declined to announce any plans for a store Rapid City.

J.C. Penney spokesman Tim Lyons said he doesn't know of any agreements with the Rushmore Crossing developers.

If there were a letter of intent, Lyon said, it would be a very preliminary step, not a solid commitment to building a new store. "Even at that stage, we wouldn't be talking about the site, because conditions can change, things can change, and it's not really a binding contract," Lyon said.

Silverman said he doesn't regularly monitor the Katz & Associates Web site and said he is not sure why it would list J.C. Penney. Officials at Katz were not available for comment Friday.

Silverman said there are many tenant discussions happening with different groups as the shopping center fills out its retail lineup. Meanwhile, there is visible progress at Rushmore Crossing, which is south of Interstate 90 between the La Crosse and North Street exits.

Scheels and Target have received building permits from the city of Rapid City, and Target and Furniture Row are already under construction. Streets and parking lots also are under construction.

Midland Atlantic will open bids this week for finish work at the Dress Barn and Shoe Carnival stores, according to the current issue of the Construction Industry Bulletin.

The Katz site plan also lists Linens 'n Things, T.J.Maxx, Petco, David's Bridal and a Gordmans clothing store as tenants that have fully executed leases.

If J.C. Penney did in fact move to Rushmore Crossing, it would leave a big empty space at Rushmore Mall, the location of its existing store. Scheels is already moving out, and Target could also be leaving when its new store is completed.

On the Net: www.katzassociates.com/pdf/rapid%20city.pdf

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com