That corner has been highly sought after.
Signs indicate the Kmart in Dalton, Ga., will soon be closing for good Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. Kmart will close in mid March and will be converted into retail.A $20 million retail center is planned for Dalton, Ga., as a developer moves ahead at the site of the last remaining Kmart store in the Chattanooga region.
Food City plans to build a 50,000-square-foot supermarket at Walnut Avenue and Tibbs Road as an anchor store in the new center, said Steve Smith, the grocer's chief executive.
"It's been a good market to us," said Smith, noting Food City already has one store in Dalton. "We do like it and see that as a growth area."
Developer Jim Otis of the Otis Company said the shopping center will hold 126,000 square feet of space.
Also planned are an Ulta Beauty store, a Ross Dress for Less and a PetSmart, said Otis, who partnered with Net Lease Alliance on the project. He said other retailers also are envisioned.
Kmart, which closed its other Dalton store on Cleveland Highway last week, is shutting the Walnut Avenue store in mid-March after it completes a liquidation sale, Otis said. Construction on the new retail center will start shortly thereafter, he said.
Shopper's cars partially fill the parking lot of Kmart as signs indicate the store will soon be closing for good Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 in Dalton, Ga. Kmart will close in mid March and will be converted into retail. Otis said he's hopeful that new stores at the site will begin to open this fall.
Bill Blackwood, owner of Coldwell Banker Kinard Realty in Dalton, said the location is one of the best in that city for retail.
"That corner has been highly sought after," said Blackwood, whose company worked with the developer to put the deal together.
Smith said the new Food City supermarket will have between 140 and 150 employees. It will hold "all the bells and whistles" such as a pharmacy, sit-down cafe, and service meat and seafood areas, he said.
Smith added that Food City recently finished a major remodel of a nearby store in Chatsworth, Ga.
Shoppers walk into the Dalton, Ga., Kmart as signs indicate the store will soon be closing for good Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. Kmart will close in mid March and will be converted into retail. Otis said plans are to tear down a portion of the Kmart and create a building pad where the Food City will go up. The front of the remaining existing structure will be revamped, Otis said. Plans are to add on to that building to create small-shop space, he said.
Also, a site that currently holds a water detention pond will be cleared away and an underground stormwater system will be put into place to create parking for the Food City, the Omaha, Neb.-based developer said.
In addition, the existing parking lot will be torn out and be refurbished, he said.
"We'll put all new stuff back in," Otis said. "We're going the extra step."
Abingdon, Va.-based Food City entered the Chattanooga market, including North Georgia, when it acquired 29 area Bi-Lo stores in 2015.
Since that time, Food City officials said they planned to spend up to $50 million over three years in the area. It has begun remodeling stores and built some replacement units. It also has added fuel centers adjacent to some of its stores.
Food City parent K-VA-T operates about 132 retail outlets throughout Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and North Georgia.
Kmart, a part of Sears Holdings, has continued to struggle nationally. The retailer closed its last store in Chattanooga in 2016 when it shut down its Hixson location and Kmart closed its store in Fort Olgethorpe last year.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.