LEEDS, ALA. — Birmingham, Ala.-based Hoar Construction will soon break ground on the 330,000-square-foot The Shops of Grand River on Motorsports Parkway in Leeds. CMH Architects designed the 100-acre, open-air outlet center, which is the first phase of Birmingham-based Daniel Corp.’s massive Grand River mixed-use project. The second phase of Grand River will consist mainly of residences.
The Shops of Grand River, which is set to deliver in Fall 2010, will bring upscale retail to an area historically overlooked by national tenants. “In this part of town, there’s really not a lot of retail close to this proximity,” says Stacey Berthon of Hoar Construction. The lure of a nearby Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is already drawing consumers to the area, but until now, there’s been no place to shop. “Leeds is a little bit off the beaten path, but it’s a new destination place. [Daniel Corp.] just thought it was a good time to bring in an upscale outlet center,” he says.
In this down economy, value-oriented retailers are fairing better than their more upper-scale counterparts. Daniel Corp., Berthon says, is seeing this trend carried out in robust pre-leasing activity. “They’ve already signed a lot of leases,” he says. “They’ve had a lot of interest from a lot of national retailers.”
— Jon Ross