Boscov’s is moving forward with plans to defer a payment on a $4.73 million federal loan which dates back to their emergence from bankruptcy in 2009.

On Wednesday, the Schuylkill County Commissioners, representing one of the six counties involved with the loan, signed off on the plan.

Boscov’s plans to forgo a $324,000 loan payment due Aug. 1 due to COVID-19. Stores were closed for more than two months during the virus shutdown.

The missed payment will be split over the remaining eight years in the term of the loan.

“There’s a lot of paperwork involved but realistically all that’s happening is Boscov’s is being permitted to pay the installment they were required to pay in August over the remaining portion of the loan beginning a year from now,” said Glenn Roth, assistant county solicitor.

The loan was a unique deal in which Boscov’s received counties’ community development block grant funds in order to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The state pledged to guarantee the payments if Boscov’s defaulted on the loan.

This is the first time that the company has missed a payment on the loan.

Boscov’s has 26 stores in Pennsylvania, as well as locations in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.