Pinnacle anchors named
August 20, 2008
By JOSH FLORY
From The Knoxville News Sentinel

Marshalls, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse will open stores in Turkey Creek expansion

Anchors await at the Turkey Creek shopping center's Farragut expansion.

With construction proceeding on Phase III of Colonial Pinnacle at Turkey Creek, the development team behind the project has announced the stores that will serve as anchors. Jason Horne, senior vice president of retail development at Birmingham-based Colonial Properties Trust, said Marshalls and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse will be tenants in the project, joining Best Buy and Belk, which had been announced previously.

The sputtering economy has weighed heavily on national retailers in recent months, but Turkey Creek has apparently been able to capitalize on the strong momentum from previous phases of development. Horne acknowledged that the economic climate may have affected leasing activity on Phase III, but added that "Turkey Creek has been a strong player in the western Knoxville market, and I think these tenants see the strength of what's happened throughout the entire development and that's appealing to them, that this continues to thrive even through the difficulties of the economy."

Horne said the 30,000-square foot Best Buy is slated to open around the beginning of November on the western portion of the site, while the remaining three anchors will aim for an April 1 opening.

Marshalls, a clothing and home furnishings retailer, and Off Broadway will be located in the middle portion of the development, while Belk will have a store in the eastern portion. That site will house Belk's men's wear and home furnishings department, and will be about half the size of an existing Belk at 11397 Parkside Drive that opened in 2006. The latter location will remain open, and will be remodeled for women's and children's merchandise.

The project represents the third installment of a highly successful partnership in which Colonial has provided development cash while a group of local investors provides the land. In Phase III, which is being built inside the town limits of Farragut, the property was sold for nearly $6 million by an entity that includes John Turley, Jim Nixon, Jim Bush and Kerry Sprouse.

Nixon said Tuesday that remaining land in Turkey Creek includes a 12-acre site near Home Federal Bank and a six-acre parcel across the street from Baptist Hospital West, but nothing as large as the 19.9-acre parcel that will be home to the latest Colonial project.

Asked if it's been harder to find tenants in the current environment, Nixon said there has been "a whole lot of interest" in Phase III, and pointed out that Belk's store is a second location in Turkey Creek. That move, he said, is "a vote of confidence and … when Penney's went in with 105,000 square feet, they're trying to keep up." Clothing and furnishings retailer JCPenney is building a store at 11534 Parkside Drive, in Turkey Creek.

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

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