New Center Planned on Old Kmart Site

The concept master plan for the proposed Southern Pines Village Shopping Center.

As of Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Kohl's has apparently made an exception to its new store criteria in deciding to anchor the proposed Southern Pines Village shopping center at the former Kmart site.

In a small or rural market with generally 100,000 residents, the company says on its website that it prefers a 64,322-square-foot prototype department store on about six acres.

But Kohl's is slated to take only 55,000 square feet in Southern Pines Village, according to a master concept plan unveiled Monday at the monthly Southern Pines Town Council work session.

"We do have an agreement signed with Kohl's," says Blaine East, managing partner for Landcore Group in Raleigh.

Christie Wolfe, a spokeswoman for Kohl's, declined to confirm or deny that the company had signed a letter of intent.

"We do not comment on real estate speculation," Wolfe says. "Kohl's has an ongoing real estate assessment process. At any given time, Kohl's is reviewing sites in communities nationwide."

East plans to partner with Keith Thompson, of VPI Commercial Realty in Knoxville, Tenn., to purchase the site from Weingarten Realty Investments.

"A new joint venture is being formed to develop the site," East says. "We plan to close on the purchase in the first quarter of 2011, begin moving dirt immediately and have the center completed in 18 months."

East, who says the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain has also signed a letter of intent, expects further tenant announcements within the next 30 days.

"We've been aggressively working on national retailers, and the response has been fantastic," he says. "We're excited. We feel like there are great opportunities here."

Southern Pines Village will feature 170,613 square feet of retail and restaurant space in 15 pads, ranging in size from 2,640 square feet to 55,000 square feet. There will be six pads in the main strip, three each in the side strips and one in each of three out-buildings along the front. The Kmart building, which will be torn down, has 169,000 square feet.

"The building has been sitting empty so long," East says. "It's been vandalized. And there are mold issues."

The building has been vacant since 2003, when Kmart closed more than 325 stores in one fell swoop.

Bob Koontz, director of land planning for Hobbs Upchurch & Associates in Southern Pines, says the biggest challenge in developing the master plan was enhancing the current character of the property.

"We wanted to park it and landscape it correctly while spreading the retail space around the perimeter of the property to give it a more village-type feel," Koontz says.

Town Manager Reagan Parsons says the developers must file a rezoning application that will need approval from both the Southern Pines Planning Board and the Town Council. The property is currently zoned General Business-Conditional District.

"It's an application to basically change the conditional district by moving the buildings around and changing the architecture," Parsons says.

Conditional approval was granted in 2008, when Home Depot requested it, but that company never moved forward with any plans at the site.

The Kmart building is on Brucewood Road, which runs between Morganton Road and U.S. 15-501.

Landcore previously developed Fairway Village on U.S. 15-501 in Southern Pines, which is anchored by Hickory Tavern.

At the time of its initial public offering in 1992, Kohl's had 79 stores in the Midwest. Today, the Menomonee, Wis.-based company operates 1,089 stores in 49 states. Of that total, 751 are located in strip centers, 78 in malls and 260 are free-standing. The company owns 35 percent of its stores and leases 37 percent, and 28 percent are ground-leased.

Kohl's sales have grown by almost 70 percent over the past seven years, from $10.3 billion in 2003 to $17.2 billion last year.

The company's merchandise mix is 32 percent women's merchandise, 19 percent men's, 18 percent home, 13 percent children's, 10 percent accessories and 8 percent footwear, according to the website.

Since 2004, Kohl's has shifted from 75 percent national brands to 52 percent, while increasing its private and exclusive brands from 25 percent to 48 percent. The company considers its private and exclusive brands to be a market differentiator because they are "available only at Kohl's."

Kohl's has about 29,000 full-time employees and 104,000 part-time associates. Employment peaks during the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

The Pilot could not determine how many new jobs would be created if Kohl's opens a Southern Pines store.

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at ted.natt@gmail.com.

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biggsmooth 2 years, 6 months ago

Way more excited about the Texas roadhouse than kohls. But glad they are finally doing something with that area.

AM910 2 years, 6 months ago

Just wait...that's not the only restaurant we're getting there. Olive Garden is getting some competition.

moberry 2 years, 6 months ago

Great, now I get to navigate that parking lot again.!

TooHot 2 years, 6 months ago

Leave it to Blaine East to mentally book the sale and call it a done deal. Kinda like Home Depot was coming too.

Steve 2 years, 6 months ago

Hope the town doesn’t kill the deal. That seems to be how it goes.

CSmithson 2 years, 6 months ago

@Steve The Town is sneaky like that. Last time, the Town killed the Home depot deal by approving their application. About a year before that, another Home Depot proposal was approved. Perhaps if the Town "kill's the deal" again by approving another Home Depot application, they'll finally get the message and go away.

There's also a Carabba's that was approved several years ago to go next to the Hickory Tavern- yet another example of the Town "killing the deal" by approving a development application.

SoPinesNo1 2 years, 6 months ago

Chris

I didn't realize that the Hickory Tavern was in Southern Pines' jurisdiction. I would like to see a Home Depot to give Lowe's some competition. I would also like to see a Target to give Walmart some competition. I only go to Walmart when it's the only possible choice.

CSmithson 2 years, 6 months ago

@SoPinesNo1 Yes, the Hickory Tavern is in SP. Commercial zoning there was approved way back in the 1980's as part of the "Pinehurst National" development.

Re: Target By far, the #1 question I have heard in my seven years on the Council is, "When are we going to get a Target?" It too would like to see a Target here. Back when KMart was open, I made a point of going there instead of Wal Mart. If we get a Target, especially one in Southern Pines, I might not ever voluntarily go to Wal Mart again.

MYBROTHER 2 years, 6 months ago

A HOME DEPOT, FRIDAY'S AND A TARGET SHOULD COME TO THAT TOWN :)

BigE 2 years, 6 months ago

I second Biggsmooth. Texas Roadhouse's ribs are great!

CC85 2 years, 6 months ago

Would love to see a "Dicks Sporting Goods" one day.

debc 2 years, 6 months ago

Thank goodness, we are getting some great place, Kohl's, Cracker Barrell, and Texas Roadhouse....I to would love to see a Target...maybe soon...As far as parking, NOTHING could be worse than WalMart

JAP 2 years, 6 months ago

DEBC

Parking at Wal Mart is nothing compared to the Kmart site. At Wal Mart, there is one big open parking lot. At Kmart, with all the curbs, etc you had to go around your elbow to get to your thumb.

JeneccaD 2 years, 6 months ago

Dick's sporting would be awesome, how about an On The Boarder restaurant?

Matt_Woodruff 2 years, 6 months ago

It blows my mind how excited people get about a new chain store or restaurant opening here. Talk about worshiping at the altar of consumerism.

None 2 years, 6 months ago

With almost 10% unemployment in Moore County, there will be some minimum wage opportunities, plus tips for some. The rest with declining incomes can just ride by and smell the exhaust from those ribs and steaks grilling...broke people don't eat out much in this economy.

tarheelz 2 years, 6 months ago

I'm excited that site is being revitalized but I wonder where all of our teenagers are going to learn how to drive now?

JAP 2 years, 6 months ago

Matt

I agree about the restuarants.....I don't understand why someone would wish for a Friday's or On the Border! Geez...

Tarheelz

Probably the same places we learned before that Kmart was built.

AM910 2 years, 6 months ago

It's about variety. Yes, we have great restaurants already, but a few more would be nice. I like TGIFriday's over Chili's and Applebee's due to a better atmosphere.

This new complex isn't just serving Moore County. You have to realize the number of people from neighboring counties that come here to shop because they don't have options either (Richmond, Scotland, Montgomery). People in Seven Lakes drive to Asheboro to eat at K&W because there's not a good cafeteria place in the tri-town area.

This is also creating jobs, something we desperately need here. We're gonna grow, like it or not.

soccermom 2 years, 6 months ago

OMG, you people are so lame. Getting excited about having another very mediocre department store and a chain restaurant. Are you kidding me, a flipping Fridays?? On the Border?? Drive over to Fayetteville and eat there, they can accommodate you.

Won't be long before these soulless establishments drive every locally owned retailer and restaurateur out of business. Pretty soon we'll look like all the other cookie-cutter, strip mall communities across America.

And guess what, how much money that's generated by these businesses do you think stays in this community - do your homework, it's not much. Wake up people!

And yes, you'll tell us another benefit will be all the jobs that will be created. Jobs with a minimum cash wage at $2.13/hr + tips, so with any luck some employees might make it to $7.25/hr - if they've got the good shifts. Try and take YOUR family members out to eat on these wages.

Why not use push for something for the kids in this community? What is there for them to do? Right now, nothing much - leading to trouble. How about a skating rink, skate board park, mini-golf, small water park, etc...??

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

Mini golf was tried and it didn't work, witness the big housing complex gracing the skyline off US1 in the former site now. The local Mom 'n Pop places are struggling in the downward spiral of the economy. People leave Moore County to shop in Cary, Raleigh and Fayetteville and I doubt Kohl's is going to be a big attraction except at first and it is more expensive than Walmart. Another steak house choice may be good for some but I choose to cook those at home and save money, and there are already a variety of steak places in the area.

pinewoodnc 2 years, 6 months ago

I hope this comes about. I love Kohl's. Use to go there all the time when I lived in TX. Good quality mechandise at good prices. Would love to see a Target come in to compete with Walmart. I don't go to this Walmart anymore than I can help. It needs some major competition. Will love to see something constructive done with all that property. That has been such a major waste of real estate.

bigD 2 years, 6 months ago

"With almost 10% unemployment in Moore County, there will be some minimum wage opportunities, plus tips for some..."

Yes Toda some of our unskilled labor force will be offered jobs. Some how you make this sound like a bad thing.

I paid for my college education with tips earned at Red Lobster. Perhaps some hard working SCC student will be able to do the same.

Ken711 2 years, 6 months ago

"Yes Toda some of our unskilled labor force will be offered jobs. Some how you make this sound like a bad thing."

Exactly, people also seem to forget about the added tax revenue those businesses will bring into the County.

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

Start saving your money and appetite. The project, IF it is built, will begin next Spring taking 18 months to complete around end of 2012. It's only in initial planning stages with many contingencies to be met.

Zoey 2 years, 6 months ago

The "Southern Pines Village". Huh ? I'm pretty sure Southern Pines became a "Town" in 1887. The only Village nearby, is the "Village of Idiots" to your West.

In terms of revenues, Walmart with its sales last year, was a sum greater than the economies of all but 30 of the world's nations. Last I saw, 70% of all Walmart's products were from China.

We wonder why our politicians are ineffective? Who are the people running our Country? Why is our economy failing? We welcome (with open arms) like-minded businesses and practices. We are truly Gluttons for Punishment...

CNMT 2 years, 6 months ago

Zoey, I presume by your "Village of Idiots to your West" comment you are referring to Pinehurst??? I have only lived here for 9 years and am a little tired of people referring to the residents of Pinehurst as idiots or other derogatory comments. One might not always agree with the way the Village does business - and I for one don't agree with everything they do - but to label all of the residents "idiots" is unfair to those of us who are educated and live here by choice! I am sure all of the surrounding communities have their fair share of "idiots" too....and I know they do because I have read most of the letters to the editor in the Pilot and comments on the blogs here!!!!

newstime 2 years, 6 months ago

I would rather see the Target store there than Kohl's.

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

I'm glad I don't live in the surrounding communities. :))

Zoey 2 years, 6 months ago

CNMT,

I apologize for my inference. I should've been more precise and used politeness by saying, "The Village of Many". My Bad...

melzabeth 2 years, 6 months ago

@soccermom... there have been a few (albeit limited things) around for kids in the past but they always close because no one goes to them. Just not enough kids to sustain them. It seems now we are getting an influx of younger kids maybe someone should try again. A monkey joes would be nice! I add my wish for an Andy's and a K&W, maybe a Krispy Kreme. We spend a lot of $ driving to Fayetteville and Raleigh to do fun stuff with the kid.

UR8Up 2 years, 6 months ago

Drive-In Movies Theater at night and Flea-Market tables in the day time!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think of all the Under the Table jobs it will create!

runorbike 2 years, 6 months ago

I think an establishment geared toward children would be good for the area. I would love to see a putt putt course come to this area Mini Pines mini golf wasn't very family friendly nor did it attract the attention of the kids. It didn't have all the fun obstacles that make the game fun. Just a thought.

JAP 2 years, 6 months ago

Zoey,

Our economy is "failing"? A little extreme don't you think? I know we are not in an economic state like the '90s, but we aren't even anywhere near the state we were in during the Great Depression. Nor are we anywhere near the economic state of the late '70s. Remember that? "Stagflation"....high interest rates and high inflation. I would not use the term "failing" for our present economic state.

Arestorer 2 years, 6 months ago

I would rather see them push it all down and build a park or something for kids and families. The Corperate companies are not the way to go to keep a community that I want to live in. You people that want all of these places to eat and buy Chineese crap are running our towns in the ditch. Maybe we could build the Detention center there. Then the people in C-city would be happy and the other people in the county would recognize how bad this would be for their own community.

Arestorer 2 years, 6 months ago

Our economy is "failing"? A little extreme don't you think? I would not use the term "failing" for our present economic state.

So JAP what would you call the situation our economy is in???? Maybe your drawing some government or Corperate retirement. What about the rest of the poor people in MC. But thats probably no skin off of your nose. Just wait till the homeless and poor are sleeping on your door step next month. I want to see everyone succeed not just the people with their nest eggs.

CSmithson 2 years, 6 months ago

@runorbike I agree about Mini Pines golf. While I don't think we needed an extreme Myrtle Beach style volcano, dinosaur, pirate ship, etc. course, the Mini Pines course really was "mini golf" and not traditional "putt putt" style where if you hit the ball just right you'll always get a hole-in-one. Wasn't there a par 5?

jamjam 2 years, 6 months ago

It might be a rough ride on a Friday afternoon for those that venture into the madness that is 15-501, 211. Traffic congestion is getting pretty bad in the area. The way I see it, madness will grow into insanity.

theonewithsense 2 years, 6 months ago

Arestorer, "I would rather see them push it all down and build a park or something for kids and families...."

That is a great idea! I think you should buy the property and build a park! The county would probably reduce your tax burden too, I'm sure plenty of people would help you build it just like we did Camelot Park in Pinehurst.

JAP 2 years, 6 months ago

Arestorer:

Simple: Recession. Happens all the time. Economic activity is cyclical.

melzabeth 2 years, 6 months ago

also we thought mini pines was closed for the longest time because no one was ever there. one night we noticed people there, played it and I swear the place closed a week later. It wasn't the greatest place, something new and updated would rock.

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

Mini Pines didn't work when it was brand spanking new due to not enough support from the locals, even when it was advertised quite a bit.

soccermom 2 years, 6 months ago

Regarding 'Mini Pines', just because this one establishment didn't work, that doesn't mean it won't or can't work now. Lots of things cause a business to close - poor location (which it was), poor management, poor facility, etc...

As for not enough kids to support something along these lines, I beg to differ. I moved into the VOP almost six years ago with two young kids and I've seen a tremendous increase in the number of children in the area - including the Village of Pinehurst. May be a reason why some of our schools were so over crowded and necessitated the building of new schools. The area has gained a lot of young families with kids, but the infrastructure has not caught up. Families are constantly driving to Fayetteville or Raleigh or Charlotte for something for their kids to do - so I think the idea of Putt-Putt, park, skating rink, a nice public swimming pool/park could work now. We could dream big, how about a Dave & Busters??

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

Any of those projects would be nice for the area but before an investor builds there has to be certainty that it would generate enough profits to make it financially feasible. Do you think your kids would like to go bowling? Go over to Pinehurst on Hwy 5 south of Pinehurst.

melzabeth 2 years, 6 months ago

my little one is to small still to enjoy bowling so we go and play the arcade. she loves that. we go to all the local parks, I'd say about half the time we go though we're the only ones there or we see one other kid. I've been trying to get up with people through a meetup group, only nine people joined and only two or three ever show up. there are more kids than there used to be but still not as many as a developer might want before building something big. soon though it will happen.

Bflat 2 years, 6 months ago

Many of the old timers around here remember growing up at Jones Skating Rink. Parents would drop off their kids for the evening without a worry because the owner would make sure everything was going smoothly and everyone safe. It would be nice if there were something like that in the Southern Pines Village shopping center.

SPSoxFan 2 years, 6 months ago

Although another big box store or lame chain restaraunt is the last thing I care to see in our area, the news of economic growth in this climate is great news. Scoffing at the fact that these businesses will only provide entry level positions ror minimum wage is such a pessimistic attitude. Residents should be happy that some jobs may actually be created in the area and will finally make use of the KMart plaza. In the meantime, perhaps Soccermom can drop the chain restaraunt fans off in Fayetteville on her way to Myrtle Beach to take advantage of the mini golf and water parks.

CSmithson 2 years, 6 months ago

@Bflat Jones Skating Rink was a great place for kids. I can't imagine how many miles I skated in that place starting from my first trip there when I was about six or seven years old.

I had my first real exposure to popular music there. Back in the late 70's and early 80's at least it was a mix of rock, disco, and pop. I can think of a few songs and bands that bring back memories of that place. Styx, Little River Band, Village People...

Birthday parties there...skating for a couple of hours on a Friday night then coming home and watching the Duke's of Hazzard...

Ah nostalgia

New Center Planned on Old Kmart Site

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