The Mall at Turtle Creek Grand Opening Festivities in Place
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/27/2006
JONESBORO, Ark. -- As vendors complete their final move-in preparations for The Mall at Turtle Creek, mall event organizers continue last minute plans for a fun week of festivities including a grand opening charity gala on Tuesday evening, a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday morning and a children’s-themed focus on Thursday.
Starting Wednesday, mall guests can register each day for a chance to win a new car by Central Auto Group. The first daily finalist will be drawn on Saturday, April 1, with additional finalists each day through Friday, April 7. All daily finalist drawings will be held at 5:00pm each day. The final drawing for the new car will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 8.
Patrons may also register for a chance to win other fantastic prizes including a 42" plasma television and a $1,000 shopping spree.
The red carpet will be unfurled on Tuesday evening for The Mall at Turtle Creek’s grand opening charity gala. Organizers are planning for several hundred guests to attend the exclusive sneak preview mall gala. A portion of the proceeds from the $100 per person ticket will benefit the St. Bernard’s Hospital Foundation.
“The event promises to be an exciting event for all those who attend,” said Jason Whitley, General Manager of The Mall at Turtle Creek. “Gala guests will be thrilled to see the parade of stars and live music throughout the evening.” The gala is scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, from 7:00pm to 9:30pm.
The 90-minute Hollywood-style entertainment program will include “celebrities” from all eras and genres, including stars Marilyn Monroe, Nicole Kidman, Reba McEntyre, Cher, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Elton John and Elvis. Joan Rivers will greet guests on the red carpet and later moderate the evening’s program.
The public is invited to observe the arrival of “celebrities” and guests near the mall entrance. For ticket information for the mall gala/entertainment program please contact 870-336-2950. A limited number of tickets are still available.
It’s also time to break out your oversized scissors. The ribbon cutting ceremony, featuring Marty Belz and Bruce Burrow of MBC Holdings LLC, David Hocker and Talmage Hocker of David Hocker & Associates, Inc., along with other community and business leaders, will be held on Wednesday, March 29, at 9:30am. The event will be held outside the front entrance of the mall between Barnes & Noble and Chico’s. The event is free and open to the public.
Doors for the mall grand opening will occur at 10:00am on Wednesday, March 29. The first 500 shoppers will receive a survival shoppers gift bag courtesy of The Mall at Turtle Creek.
Thursday will be a fun day for children of all ages. The St. Bernard’s Hospital Fun Forest Playland Dedication will take place at 10:00am, while the Easter Bunny will arrive later that day at 4:00pm. There will be animated character appearances near the Fun Forest Playland throughout the day. In addition, the first 200 children ages eight and below who arrive at the playland will receive special gifts.
Once completed, the project will be the only regional mall to open in the United States during the 2006 calendar year. The $100-million retail complex will create over 1,500 jobs, while adding 900 net new jobs to the area. In addition, the projected annual retail sales for the development are $225 million.
Located at the intersection of Highland Drive and Stadium Boulevard in Jonesboro, the development encompasses 750,000 square feet of retail space and more than 70 retailers in a fully enclosed mall with a unique “Main Street” presentation, one of the first of its kind in the country.
Anchored by Dillard’s, J.C. Penney and Target, The Mall at Turtle Creek development will be the largest regional mall in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri. Sub-anchors will include Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City and Steve & Barry’s. Both the Target and J.C. Penney stores opened their doors to customers in October 2005.
The other announced tenants include: Aeropostale, American Eagle, Ann Taylor Loft, Auntie Anne’s, , Bath & Body Works, Bath Junkie, Candy Craze, Buckle, Chao Prya, Charlotte Russe, Chick-fil-A, Chico’s, Children's Place, Chili’s, Christopher & Bank, Chuck E. Cheese, Claire’s, Circuit City, Coldwater Creek, Dress Barn, Finish Line, Francesca’s Collections, GNC, Gap/Gap Kids/Gap Baby, Gear Head, J. Jill, Gordon’s Jewelers, Great American Cookies, Hallmark, Hibbett Sports, Hollister, Hot Topic, J.C. Penney, Jos. A. Bank, Journeys, Kay Jewelers, Liberty Bank, Lids, Limited Too, MasterCuts, Maurice’s, Merle Norman, Nail & Spa Salon, New York & Company, Pacific Sun, Payless Shoes, Regis Salons, Rue 21, Shoe Dept, Shorty Small’s, Spencers, St. Bernard’s Fun Forest Playland, Steak Escape/Baskin-Robbin's, Subway, Sunglass Hut, Trade Secrets, Vanity, Victoria’s Secret and Zales. For more information visit The Mall at Turtle Creek Web site at shopturtlecreek.com.
MBC Holdings LLC has already invested heavily in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri with the development of a number of shopping centers. The group has also invested in the Central Arkansas market, with projects including The Peabody Little Rock, the Hilton Little Rock Metrocenter and The Shoppes at North Hills, with Arkansas’ first Bass Pro Shops. The Jonesboro-based firm is one of the region’s largest commercial property developers specializing in shopping centers and hotel properties.
David Hocker & Associates, Inc., of Owensboro, Kentucky, is a fully integrated retail real estate development and management company that opened its first shopping center in 1964 and has since developed forty shopping center totaling more than fourteen million square feet in New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The Mall at Turtle Creek will be the company’s thirteenth regional mall and its first development in Arkansas. David Hocker is a former Chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the global trade association of the shopping center industry, having some 54,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries.