Dollar Tree is set to take over the Wilmington store formerly occupied by Party City as part of the retailer's pending bankruptcy case.

Party City announced plans to close all of its stores, including the location in Wilmington’s New Centre Market shopping center, in December after the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in two years. The Wilmington location officially closed its doors earlier this year.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the company filed a “notice of intent” to assign its existing lease to Dollar Tree Stores Inc., according to Maria Pace, a spokesperson for shopping center manager Brixmor Property Group. The nearly 12,000-square-foot retail space is located at 4715 New Centre Drive, Suite F.

Party City’s former Wilmington store is listed as one of the assumed and assigned leases in the filing, which was entered with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in February.

"Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. and its affiliates operate more than 16,000 retail discount stores across the 48 contiguous states and five Canadian provinces and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dollar Tree, Inc.,” the filing states. It notes that the publicly-traded company has a market capitalization of approximately $15 billion.

According to reporting from Supermarket News, acquiring bankrupt leases has been a key part of Dollar Tree’s growth in recent years, with Dollar Tree moving to acquire nearly 150 former Party City leases.

It’s unclear when Dollar Tree will open, but signs posted on the storefront's windows (pictured below at right) say the company is currently hiring for the location. Dollar Tree representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about the timeline for opening the new store. There are at least 10 Dollar Tree or Family Dollar stores in the Wilmington area. Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar in 2015.

Dollar Tree could be a good fit for the shopping center, Pace wrote in an email to the Business Journal.

“Adding value-driven retailers like Dollar Tree would complement the existing tenant mix, which includes pOpshelf, Burlington and Target – brands that already resonate with consumers focused on maximizing value,” she wrote. “A retailer like Dollar Tree would not only be a strong fit with the current lineup, but also reflect the community’s preference for affordable, everyday essentials.”

Other tenants in the more than 143,000-square-foot shopping center include Shoe Carnival, PetSmart, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Chick-fil-A and Bonefish Grill, among others.