Jackson Retail and Commercial Developments

[WestTNNative]

Have you heard anything on the interstate retail project/mall out by Pringles Park? Lots of work has been done out there, but I have heard little on what is going to be going out there. I also noticed awhile back that across I-40 now land has been cleared for another commercial/retail development which I believe is unrelated, but I may be wrong about that.

[Rural King]

Jackson sure could use another grocer to compete with Kroger. I am a loyal Kroger customer and I like their operations, but a competition is never a bad thing. A Publix would be a great coup for Jackson and really say something about where the city is heading, but I don't know if we are on that company's radar yet as they seem pretty focused on Middle Tennessee. Schnucks already operates in Memphis so Jackson is not far-fetched, and I suppose EW James might get brave and build a store in the Jackson market. The most likely suspect though would probably be a 5th Kroger at Sandstone Village. What do you think?

I've seen some of the establishments pioneering in Park Place. They are a good start but I hope that project, and Sandstone, lives up to their hype/potential. The Pringles Park area of the city is a great area off the interstate for new commercial growth to take root, hopefully it will and alleviate some of the congestion off of Vann Drive/US 45/I-40. I am of the opinion they will be successful and spark more growth in that area of the city once they get established.

I also heard the rumors for Southside developments, and I think there is some development signage up already across from Wal-Mart and Lowes no? The residential growth southwards seems to about to pick up so maybe some new retail and restaurants are in the near future, but I think a Target and Home Depot are far fetched for that side of town at the moment. O'Charley's....sure maybe....not much dining out that way, relocated Kroger from the dated Southside locale is something I could see, but nothing much bigger than that at this time. What do you think might be likely go be seen going up on the Southside?

[WestTNNative]

The most likely suspect though would probably be a 5th Kroger at Sandstone Village. What do you think?

I also heard the rumors for Southside developments, and I think there is some development signage up already across from Wal-Mart and Lowes no? The residential growth southwards seems to about to pick up so maybe some new retail and restaurants are in the near future, but I think a Target and Home Depot are far fetched for that side of town at the moment. O'Charley's....sure maybe....not much dining out that way, relocated Kroger from the dated Southside locale is something I could see, but nothing much bigger than that at this time. What do you think might be likely go be seen going up on the Southside?

[Rural King]

Thanks for the link, thats a interesting site I had no idea was around and I need to keep an eye on to see what is underway. I wonder what they could anchor at Meridian Springs there aside from a grocery, a Peebles or similar department store perhaps? Plenty of smaller retailers could find a good market in area of town by locating to either of those developments, and I imagine both should fill up quickly and have some dining options worked in along the way as well.

I was thinking about the aforementioned rumored third theatre in Jackson, I wonder if it could be Malco or another theatre company looking at entering the Jackson market and giving Ajay some competition. It's hard to see Ajay building a third theatre just a mile down Vann from it's newest theatre, unless demand is so pressing they need to cut off another competitor from moving into the market.

Is there still talk of a theatre downtown, I thought that pretty much died when TDEC denied the waiver for the downtown entertainment district?

I really wish TDEC hadn't leveled that blow to downtown's redevelopment prospects, but none the less redevelopment continues to move apace slowly but surely due to some pioneering investors and business people willing to take the risk of moving into downtown.

The one store we currently lack that I would really like to see Jackson land is a World Market. The Columns II area seems perfect for this retailer as far as the current retail mix and consumer base is concerned.

[WestTNNative]

I was thinking about the aforementioned rumored third theatre in Jackson, I wonder if it could be Malco or another theatre company looking at entering the Jackson market and giving Ajay some competition. It's hard to see Ajay building a third theatre just a mile down Vann from it's newest theatre, unless demand is so pressing they need to cut off another competitor from moving into the market.

[Rural King]

I would like to see a small theater in either downtown or the southern part of Jackson.

[WestTNNative]

Here's another proposed development for Jackson: The Shops of Campbell Street. It's located at the same interstate exit where the proposed mall/lifestyle center will be. More details can be found here. The two hotels are done, but nothing else has been built yet. It looks like they plan on having two pretty big anchors--any speculation? I also found it interesting that the marketing package shows Barnes & Noble under construction this year, but as far as I can remember, nothing has been officially announced.

[Rural King]

Cost Plus/World Market could be one anchor for pure speculation. They just opened three new stores in Nashville just last month and seem pretty keen at entering new growth markets. They might be a good fit for this development and/or in this area of the city, but I always invisioned the Columns II area as a better fit. Any specualtion WTNNative on what you might think could be in the works, or might want to see out there?

Any word on who the Moss Creek's development's two big anchors are, I might have heard at some point but I don't remember at the moment.

That marketing report also shows the clear opportunity for another grocer to enter the market. Is Kroger that powerful in the market that despite healthy growth and a more affluent populace that the Jackson can't lure another major quality chain into the market yet?

As for the Barnes and Noble's, I sure hope this is true. I think the city has the right demographic mix and growth to support a second "quality" bookstore. Books-A-Million is great, but it's pretty much the big box retailer of the book world and lacking in some regards in the quality department.

On a side note, I went to the Diamond Jaxx home opener tonight and while on the way home we drove by the retail developments out by the ballpark and were impressed by the development that has taken place over the last year.

[WestTNNative]

Cost Plus/World Market would be a good fit for Jackson, but I have a feeling that this development won't take off until the new mall takes shape a little more. At this point, the land hasn't even been cleared so I don't see any companies wanting to fill a 100,000 sq ft+ space without some help in that area. However, if the mall doesn't come to life, a grocery store might do well in that development. Kroger's definitely popular, but I think people would welcome another company into the mix.

I've heard for years that Dillard's is coming to Jackson, even when the mall was rumored to be at Christmasville Road years ago. So, it wouldn't surprise me if they were one of the anchors at Moss Creek. If it's just two anchors, I'm not sure what the other one would be. My guess is that it would be one of Old Hickory Mall's current anchors.

[Rural King]

Dillards would be a great addition to the market, the one in Paducah does a heck of a business with their operation split into two anchor positions within that very nice mall they have up there. I am not sure who would want to be the othet anchor with Dillards either. I mean would a direct competitor want to co-anchor?

WTNNative do you have any opinion on the Old Hickory Mall area's future? I would like to think that area can be maintained as a nice clean safe retail corridor, but with the potential demise of OHM seems to foretell major long term sustainability issues for the area. Mainly my concern is that if the OHM starts to decline it will spread over into the hospital district, LANA, etc. that already have some issues holding their own.

[WestTNNative]

I'm very interested in what happens to Old Hickory Mall in the future. I don't think the demand or number of stores are there for Jackson to support two malls. If the lifestyle center at I-40 is a smaller development, maybe the existing mall will be OK. There's not a lot of information out about Moss Creek, so it may be too early for me to speculate. Personally, I'd love to see Old Hickory Mall converted into an outlet mall considering that's something that's missing from this area, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be.

Also, it's now official that the building under construction at Meridian Springs is a dental clinic. Lenny's Sub Shop has also expressed interest in the area.

[Rural King]

I went past Meridian Springs today, they had the walls and rafters up, looks like a good little start to that development. That part of town looks a lot different then it did just a few years ago and things are looking a lot better out that way. On a sidenote I tried the Gunthries on the Southside today for the first time....and I have to say it's a rather lack luster product based on my little trial snack...and it left me wondering how Guntries is a successful and growing franchise model. Heck, we have two in Jackson now with the other out by Pringles park, plus Zaxbys - that's a lot of chicken fingers. LOL

I read a wild rumor that Costco might be looking at Jackson, but in that same discussion I read that Jackson would be it's smallest market and thus making us an unlikely locale. Jackson might be a smaller market, but it has a large regional pull and has a healthy growth rate, so it's not unrealistic to think Costco might be looking at Jackson for future expansion IMO. Plus, most businesses/retailers start out targeting larger established markets and work their way down to the smaller markets, so I don't think the small market liability argument can hold much weight unless Costco never intends to enter the smaller regional markets and cede them to Sam's Club.

Another interesting area to watch will be Oil Wells west to Pleasant Plains Extended, and the portion of Pleasant Plains Extended from the Columns out towards Union University. Not sure how much of that land is able to be acquired for development due to Union's prescence, but growth seems headed in both directions, esp. along Oil Wells - as that section has boomed in the last two years.

[WestTNNative]

I think Union owns land on both sides of Pleasant Plains Extended so development on that road may be limited to the stretch between Vann Drive and Country Club.

There was an article in this past Sunday's newspaper about the Park Place West development. A Sonic Drive-In and McDonald's are the first two pieces of the development. They are wanting to bring a medical/office building, a 12-15 screen movie theater, and a grocery store to the area. They have spoken with Kroger but are seeking out other companies as well.

[Rural King]

There was an article in this past Sunday's newspaper about the Park Place West development. A Sonic Drive-In and McDonald's are the first two pieces of the development. They are wanting to bring a medical/office building, a 12-15 screen movie theater, and a grocery store to the area. They have spoken with Kroger but are seeking out other companies as well.

[WestTNNative]

Rural King,

Have you heard anything else about the proposed lifestyle center for Jackson? According to the initial reports, the center should either be open or nearly open by now. Do you think this project could be or already is a victim of the economic slowdown?

[Rural King]

Haven't heard a thing, but I would say with Whirlpool shutting down (500+) and adding to the city's 8% unemployment rate that it will surely fall victim of the national recession and get put on hold. Although I am fairly optimistic that Jackson will pull through this recession fairly well compared to other similar sized cities due to its status as a regional hub; I think the rural areas outside of Jackson may get hammered pretty hard with plant closures and that could seriously impact the economic activity in the city long after the recession ends.

Medina on the other hand seems recession proof thus far. Residential is still chugging along, retail is expanding (albeit is slowly), and services offered in town are increasing. This growth will probably be amplified next year when the new South Gibson County High School nears completion, as one has to think those with the means and inclination will continue to migrate out of Jackson and Humboldt to Medina for it's schools, as has been the trend over the last 7 years.