February 29, 2016

Collierville Shopping Center Lands Anchor


By Tara Milligan
– The Memphis Business Journal –

Dillard’s department store has committed to being an anchor in the 1 million-square-foot Carriage Crossing retail development that is planned for Collierville.

Wes Cherry, vice president of real estate for Little Rock-based Dillard’s, Inc., confirmed that the company has made a preliminary commitment to Montgomery, Alabama mall developer Jim Wilson & Associates.

Jennifer Atkins, marketing director for Jim Wilson & Associates, says the company is talking to a number of retailers about the center.

“We are in discussions with Dillard’s about the project, but we haven’t made any announcements yet,” Atkins says.

Memphis has four Dillard’s at Oak Court Mall, Raleigh Springs Mall, Hickory Ridge Mall and Wolfchase Galleria.

Dillard’s is the second company to announce its interest in anchoring the proposed lifestyle center.

During a recent speech to the Memphis Regional Chamber, the chief officer of Saks, Inc., Brad Martin, said one of the company’s flagships, Parisian department store, has made a commitment to the center as well.

And several retail real estate sources say Galyan’s trading Co. has expressed a strong interest in the third anchor spot. Plainfield, Ind.-based Galyan’s is a specialty sporting goods retail chain that has been reportedly looking at Memphis for a location for several months.

The company has 28 stores in 15 markets and, according to the company’s web site, plans to expand to 35 stores this year. The nearest Galyan’s to Memphis is Louisville.

The company offers a broad range of products that appeal to consumers with active lifestyles, from the casual consumer to the serious sports enthusiast.

The company’s products include brand names and private labels and range from outdoor and athletic equipment to apparel, footwear and accessories.

Galyan’s stores are typically 80,000-100,000 square feet and often feature interactive areas such as rock-climbing walls and putting greens.

The company’s majority owner is Freeman Spogli, which owns about 33% of Galyan’s; The Limited owns 32%.

Lisa Hepworth, a marketing representative with Galyan’s, says the company doesn’t have Carriage Crossings as an approved location for a Galyan’s right now.

“We don’t have a signed lease, so technically that’s not an approved location yet,” Hepworth says. “We do check into a lot of different areas, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re actually planning to sign anything. If we are planning to, we don’t have anything in writing yet, so we can’t make a comment about it.”

Jim Wilson & Associates is still in the process of finalizing plans for the open-air center. The developer’s request to amend the 1996 Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for additional retail space for the center was denied at a March 7 meeting of the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

The original site plan called for development of a 816,460-square-foot open-air center with three anchors on the southeast corner of Houston Levee Road and Nonconnah Parkway. The center would be bordered to the south by East Shelby Drive.

South of the lifestyle center on the south side of East Shelby Drive, the plans called for a 335,000-square-foot power center.

Final plans to build a smaller open-air center are to be submitted this summer and upon approval, the company hopes to begin construction in order to meet a goal of opening the mall by 2004.