New stores to open soon in EastChase
By Kym Klass
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New businesses are slowly filling the more than 300 acres of land at EastChase -- three new stores are scheduled to open by late March.
The booming area and new big-name stores are expected to keep more Montgomery shoppers closer to home and spending money in town.
One particular new business will keep Marisa Thompson and her pocketbook closer to home -- and save her a two-hour drive to find her favorite beauty products.
"ULTA is coming?" she asked of the beauty store, slated to open in April. "Really? Can you believe I have driven to Dothan to get some of their products?"
Circuit City, Bed Bath and Beyond and Michael's all are slated to open in March. And that's just the beginning.
The new businesses in the Market Center -- adjacent to Costco -- will help fill about 80 percent of the EastChase development in east Montgomery, said Kay Yarbrough, spokeswoman for Jim Wilson and Associates. The entire development likely will be completed in three more years. Currently, about 75 percent to 80 percent of the land has been developed.
The development of EastChase began 11 years ago with the purchase of land, and groundbreaking took place in 2001. Shops opened the following year, Target opened in 2004, and the building boom has not slowed since.
Remaining on the 330 acres are six retail outparcels in front of the Market Center, two in front of Target and one at the front entrance near Chick-fil-A. There also are a few outparcels available on Eastchase Parkway.
Land behind Target is the potential site for another hotel. Next to the Lakeview office center, which extends from Eastchase Lane to Berry Hill Road, there is room for additional office space. There are two large outparcels to the right of the EastChase entrance. One is the Rooms to Go, and another is a restaurant pad.
Across from Costco is another site slated for apartments -- although nothing has been identified yet.
Recently, Cheeburger Cheeburger shut its doors because the restaurant's owner had health problems. The company will look for another franchisee to take its place.
Thompson is thrilled at the additions. She said not only will it stop her from driving to Dothan, but Birmingham as well.
Walking arm in arm were 18-year-old twins Rebecca and Sherrie Robertson. They squealed when they learned Shoe Station was making its way to EastChase.
"Shoes! We love shoes!" Rebecca Robertson said. "I don't think any shoe store is a bad thing for EastChase shopping. It will just give us another reason to come out here to shop."
Mary Crawford views the continued development at EastChase as beneficial not just for employment, but for making Montgomery a choice place to visit.
"If it's going to be anything, it seems it's going to be the shopping that keeps people coming here ... but this shopping area is really benefiting the city," she said.
"I have friends from Auburn who come here just to shop at EastChase. The more they build, the better off the city will be."
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from someone concerning the recent lineup announcement for the Performing Arts Center. As a big Loretta Lynn fan, I was thrilled to see her name listed. I started looking for venue information this weekend as her tickets go on sale later this week. No site (Ticketmaster, est.) seems to have a functioning seating chart for the center. Anybody seen one or know where it is located? In my opinion, if you have tickets available for purchase, you should have a seating chart published and easily locatable.
it isn't by the way.....
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