Activist investment firm Macellum Capital Management, a shareholder of Kohl’s, is raising questions about the department-store chain’s real estate portfolio, including its properties in Montgomery County, writes Ashley Fahey for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Jonathan Duskin, CEO of the investment firm which is currently locked in a battle with Kohl’s to gain control of its board, has sent several letters to shareholders. In these he called for changes to the oversight and leadership, citing company underperformance.

The real estate holdings of the department-store chain, which is rumored to have received interest from several possible buyers, are a key contention point for Macellum.

At the end of the fourth quarter, Kohl’s net property and equipment totaled $7.3 billion. In one of his letters to shareholders, Duskin referenced an “opportunity cost” of letting over $7 billion of real estate sit idle on Kohl’s balance sheet.

His firm is pushing for to transition to an asset-light model and do something accretive with the real estate sales proceeds.

“Neighborhoods change, highways change, the demographics change,” said Duskin. “It’s hard to think they’re locked into this real estate footprint instead of being in a 10-year lease to reassess that.”

Read more about Kohl’s in the Philadelphia Business Journal.