Site plan updated, construction continues on Cullman Shopping Center
Published 5:15 am Thursday, February 5, 2015
- Aerial views of Cullman Shopping Center show the evovling face of the popular retail center as, top, the development is seen in its older form. Above, the former Food World building has been demolished as construction is under way for a new Dick’s Sporting Goods and other additions to the center.
Construction continues and some new additions are already being framed up on the site of the new-look Cullman Shopping Center, which will soon add Publix, Dick’s Sporting Goods and PetSmart.
Engineers requested to tweak the location of a wall by three feet on the north side of the development, where a new retail building will be built beside Books A Million.
Construction is well underway on the south side of the development, where one new structure is already visibly framed. The entire project will be extended on the south side to make way for the new anchor tenants.
The 50-year-old, U.S. Highway 31 development is currently anchored by Belk, Books-A-Million and the soon-to-close JC Penney. Work is underway to fully renovate and restore the existing facilities, then expand the development with new construction on the back side behind the now-demolished Food World location. Once complete, the new work will increase total square footage to more than 325,000 square feet of retail space.
Many of the new businesses are slated to open later this year.
In addition to representing a major reinvestment in the north Cullman property, the Cullman Shopping Center project also marks the city’s first-ever foray into a retail tax-sharing agreement as part of the recruitment incentive package.
The council agreed to a tax-sharing agreement with Merchants Retail Partners (MRP) in 2013 worth up-to $6 million. Under the deal, businesses in the development will still pay sales tax, though the city will pay back some of those funds for a set period of time. The deal only affects city sales tax (1.75 percent) and does not include education taxes.
Current estimates show those amounts would total approximately $276,000 paid back via a portion of existing sales tax the first three years, with as much as $800,000 produced (and split) in the subsequent seven years from new development. The city also approved $1.8 million in infrastructure upgrades for the project in 2014.
MRP manages several large-scale developments across the southeast, including the Tiger Town retail development in Opelika. Tiger Town is anchored by big box tenants such as Bed Bath and Beyond, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s and Target.
Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 134.
