Target receives building permit
Jonesboro Sun
Keith Inman
10/21/2004
Development of The Mall at Turtle Creek is about to move beyond site preparation to actual brick and mortar.
Jonesboro officials issued a building permit Wednesday to Target Corp., for construction of the first store in the complex.
"They can start immediately, as soon as they can mobilize and get ready to go," Chief Building Inspector Ron Shipley told The Sun shortly after issuing the permit.
"Marianna Dando, contract administrator for MCDR Inc., the general contractor for the project, said Wednesday afternoon that actual construction probably won't start for about two months. She said MCDR began the process of hiring subcontractors after receiving the notice to proceed from the city, she said.
Construction is expected to take about six months, Dando said.
"That's going to be a back-to-school opening," she explained of the timing of the project.
The 134,000 square foot single-story structure with brick exterior will also include a Starbucks Coffee store and a food court.
The permit estimated the value of the Target project at $3.75 million. The permit also added $7,500 to the city's treasury.
"For the city of Jonesboro this was a big day," Shipley said.
"I don't think people know how big. You've heard of trickle-down economics. This is the start of a big stream."
Shipley said he hopes to be able to issue a permit to J.C. Penney for construction of its anchor store at the mall in a couple of weeks.
While the Target and J.C. Penney stores are expected to open in the fall of 2005, the remaining 100 stores likely won't be in business until about March 2006.
Other major stores in the almost 800,000 square-foot development will include Dillard's, Circuit City, Barnes & Noble and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Belz-Burrow Development Group and Owensboro, Ky.-based real estate developer David Hocker and Associates are developing The Mall at Turtle Creek.
The new mall is expected to generate some $225 million annually in retail sales, which would translate into about $900,000 a year in additional sales taxes for the city and Craighead County, while creating 900 new jobs.
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