First Part Of Gallina Ready in February

By Tony Marks
– The Collierville Herald –

One-third of Gallina Centro shopping center at the southwest corner of Poplar and Houston Levee is scheduled for completion by February.

Construction is continuing on two large structures, which will house a Kroger grocery store and Steinmart, according to Boyle Investment Company senior vice-president, Cary Whitehead.

"We anticipate completion in February. I don’t know when the stores will open, that’s up to them," Whitehead said.

He said some of the other construction can be done without having leased the space, but the majority of the center needs to be leased out beforehand.

So far, the two stores are being built on the south side of what Whitehead describes as a "standard grocery-anchored shopping center." He said plans also include building a Walgreens on the corner of Houston Levee and Winchester. The store is scheduled to start later this year and could be finished next summer.

Whitehead said Boyle was also talking with several restaurants interested in the corner of Houston-Levee and Poplar Avenue. Others leases are pending.

Collierville added the center to its territory in a deal with Memphis last summer. Construction of the center has gone very well because of the lack of rain, Whitehead said.

"It’s a good thing during construction. When you are doing construction you don’t want any rain," he said. "But all in all, I think we would like to have some more rain."