Lamonts sells Alderwood Mall site to gain cash. (Lamonts Apparel Inc.)

13 months into Chapter 11, creditors are hopeful

Lamonts Apparel Inc. has sold its Alderwood Mall store site as part of a restructuring that creditors hope could bring it out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later this year.

The Bellevue-based retailer, in Chapter 11 since January 1995, sold the Alderwood real estate for $5 million and will now lease its 60,000-square-foot store. In another move, it is preparing to close its poorly performing store in Eugene, Ore., next month.

Now operating 43 stores - down from 57 before the bankruptcy filing - Lamonts' current management seems to have the confidence of creditors, who've been waiting more than a year for …