Mall permit issued
City authorizes $18.5 million
Jonesboro Sun
Anthony Childress
1/4/2005
The new year is off to a rousing start for Jonesboro's building permits department with Monday's issuance of a permit to The Mall at Turtle Creek.
Ron Shipley, city building inspector, said the permit was approved early in the day and now gives the $100-plus million project a boost in moving forward.
"We issued the mall permit first thing this morning, totaling $18.5 million, and it was very exciting," said Shipley. "Right after that, we issued the permit for J.C. Penney (totaling over $4.4 million). It's a huge day for the city."
The 750,000-square-foot retail outlet will sit at the intersection of Highland Drive and Stadium Boulevard on roughly 78 acres of land. It is expected to include more than 3,600 parking spaces.
"I was told our permit was the first to be issued this morning," said Bruce Burrow, principal of Belz-Burrow Development Group, the mall's developer. "It's going to be a great place for shopping in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri."
Belz-Burrow officially confirmed the mall project last March, linking up with Owensboro, Ky.-based real estate developer David Hocker & Associates, to make the announcement.
The mall will be anchored by Target, J.C. Penney and Little Rock-based Dillard's. Sub-anchors include Circuit City, Barnes & Noble and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Burrow said Target and Penney are slated to open in September, with other stores coming thereafter. Dillard's is expected to come aboard by March 2006, though he said it "might be a little sooner" depending on a variety of factors.
"I'm excited about the Dillard's store," he said. "It will be state-of-the-art. People are going to be amazed at what they see."
Upon completion, Turtle Creek will rank sixth on a list of the 10 largest retail projects in Arkansas -- behind Central Mall (Fort Smith), The Shoppes at North Hills (North Little Rock, another Belz-Burrow venture), Pinnacle Hills (Rogers), Northwest Arkansas Mall (Fayetteville) and McCain Mall (North Little Rock).
Rounding out the list are The Pines (Pine Bluff), University Mall (Little Rock), Park Plaza (Little Rock) and Hot Springs Mall.
"We're close to being about 80 percent leased for space at the mall," Burrow said. "My gut tells me we'll be awfully close to being full when we open next fall. It says a lot about our market when we have retailers clamoring to get in."
In July the Jonesboro City Council adopted an ordinance in order to create a redevelopment district for the purpose of using tax increment financing to cover infrastructure improvements associated with the project. Under state law, city and county governing bodies are allowed to set
up TIF districts.
The TIF bond issue pays for $9.1 million in infrastructure improvements, according to a project plan submitted with the ordinance.
In terms of economic development, developers project Turtle Creek will generate $225 million annually in sales, along with hundreds of new jobs.
"The mall is the cake and all the stores are the icing on that cake," Shipley said.
Weather permitting, Burrow anticipates the project continuing on schedule. He said crews had taken advantage of dry weather during much of August and September.
"I don't think there will be a finer mall for a city of this size anywhere in the country," Burrow said.
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