Changing landscape: Business is busting out all over at Exit 407

SEVIERVILLE - For years, travelers have flocked to Interstate 40's Exit 407 on their way to the mountains, but these days the intersection is starting to look like a destination in its own right.

The nexus of I-40 and the Winfield Dunn Parkway in Sevier County is drawing a flurry of interest from developers who see dollar signs in the millions of cars that pass through Exit 407 every year. The best example can be seen on a rise of land southeast of the intersection, where a team with ties to Knoxville's Turkey Creek project is in the midst of a massive earth-moving effort to prepare the way for Dumplin Creek, a 190-acre shopping-and-dining center.

But Dumplin Creek is building on a foundation that includes a variety of retail and entertainment options, with more to come. North of I-40, the minor league baseball stadium Smokies Park and the popular Bass Pro Shops store across the parkway were trail-blazing attractions, and those anchor destinations are seeing a hotel, retail shops and restaurants fill in the land around them.

Dwight Church, a developer who lives in Knoxville, has owned land near the intersection since 1975 and is currently lining up tenants for Building C in the Shops at Brookside, a retail development near Bass Pro that also includes a Chop House. Church said a major restaurant will be located in the upstairs of his building and a national retailer in the downstairs, with a few spaces left for other tenants.

Church, who owns other properties near the intersection, said the Smoky Mountains have long been the draw as Sevier County has grown into a tourist destination, but the recent surge has been caused by the ballpark and Bass Pro. The developer added that he's "looking forward to the next 20 years up there."

Without a doubt, the Dumplin Creek project will have a major impact on those next 20 years. On a recent visit, developer John Turley drove a pickup truck around the site on the intersection's southeast corner, where an army of earth-moving vehicles has already cleared 1.3 million cubic yards of rock and dirt and have 2.7 million more to go. Turley pointed to a spot that will be home to a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and said dirt and rock being scraped off one hill on the property will be used to fill in a hole at the Wal-Mart site.

The developer said that on a job of the magnitude of Dumplin Creek, his team can't afford to take dirt off the site or bring haul dirt in. "This is probably the biggest earth-moving job in the state right now," he said.

When completed, the project is slated to include up to 800,000 square feet of retail space and 400,000 square feet of entertainment and hospitality offerings, with a total development cost north of $150 million.

That may sound like an intimidating competitor for other projects in the area, but it's not necessarily a zero-sum game. Leslie Baugues, a broker with Holrob Commercial Realty, who in the past has leased space in the Shops at Brookside, said Dumplin Creek should help nearby businesses. "I don't see it as competition, I see it as a positive for all the retailers up there - for Bass Pro and for our shops and for (Turley)," said Baugues.

Allen Newton, executive director of the Sevier County Economic Development Council, credited the city of Sevierville as a driving force behind the activity at the intersection, and predicted that "we're just seeing the beginning of the development at Exit 407."

"It's amazing the kind of confidence that developers have in Sevier County," he said. "And we have proven over the years that we are a good investment, and we'll continue to be a good investment."

Business writer Josh Flory may be reached at 865-342-6994.

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