Hobby Lobby + Academy Sports among new stores coming to Athens

a6175265 8b2b 4528 9548 af40bc9d95a7 — A new shopping center in Athens will include Academy Sports, Hobby Lobby and more. (“Academy Sports + Outdoors – Sarah Stierch – May 2024 01” by Missvain is licensed under CC BY 4.0)

The Athens City Council this week approved an economic development agreement that gives the green light to the development of a commercial retail shopping center on the southern end of Braly Boulevard near I-65 and U.S. 72.

This shopping center will likely include Hobby Lobby, Academy Sports and Outdoors, HomeGoods, Burlington, Books-A-Million and Petsmart.

Here’s more:

New shopping center approved for Athens

4aae46a8 367f 48b1 9de9 cc2b2eb398d7 — “Hobby Lobby in Mansfield, Ohio” by Nicholas Eckhart is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The development includes an anticipated investment of $34 million, the creation of new jobs and the generation of annual taxable sales of approximately $30 million.

The development addresses retail needs published in the Athens 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which included public input. The plan references retail leakage to Madison County and the need for Athens to address grocery stores, full service dining, clothing and accessory stores, sporting goods stores, home furnishings and small format specialty stores.

The plan also notes the overall leakage was $225 million. Since the plan’s adoption, the City of Athens has addressed specific stores mentioned in the plan, such as TJ Maxx, as well as programs for Downtown Athens merchants.

“Our general fund relies on sales tax to fund police officers, firefighters, paving, sanitation, parks and recreation and other services. Sales tax makes up more than 40 percent of our General Fund revenue.

The city looks at its return on investment for incentives and infrastructure improvements. We need these name brand stores that draw people off the interstate and encourage our own citizens to shop local, and we also need the mom-and-pop stores that provide unique shopping and dining experiences for citizens and visitors.”

Mayor Ronnie Marks

As part of the agreement, the City of Athens will work with ALDOT on road improvements along Braly Boulevard, U.S. 72, I-65, Cool Springs Drive and Audubon Lane.

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