As site work continues at the future location of the Cambridge Square development on the corner of Lee Highway and Ooltewah-Georgetown Road, Lupi's Pizza owner Dorris Shober is making plans to open her fifth location within the development.
The town square component of Cambridge Square, which will include a large green space and serve as the development's focal point, is slated for completion later this summer. After the square is complete, developers will work to build two 10,000-square-foot buildings by the beginning of next year that will house restaurants, retailers and office space.
"I am so excited for Ooltewah," said Shober. "We wanted to come here a couple of years ago, but there was no place to go."
She said she plans to open her new 2,500-square-foot restaurant by February or March of 2013.
"We have had customer demand in the other locations for years," Lupi's manager Matt Douglas said in regards to the upcoming Ooltewah store. "People wanted us to be here so they wouldn't have to drive downtown or through Hamilton Place traffic."
Cambridge Square spokesperson Jim Cheney said Lupi's is the first business to commit to a lease with Cambridge Square, but developers have received signed letters of intent from two commercial entities, three medical professionals, multiple restaurants and a wine and spirits store.
Once the square is complete later this summer, he said he anticipates more official announcements once people realize the development's vision.
Michael McGowan, an architect with River Street Architecture who is also working with the project, said it's important for people to realize Cambridge Square isn't just another strip mall development.
"This is going to be a pedestrian-activated development where landscaping and aesthetics take priority," he said. "There will be a lot going on and a lot of people walking from place to place."
Initial commercial outreach has been selective and for the most part limited to local and regional businesses, said The Lupton Company CEO David Belitz, one of the developers working on the project.
"Much the way downtown Chattanooga was revitalized by the efforts of great local businesses, we have a vision of Cambridge Square being energized by local business owners who understand the lasting value of a personal investment here," he said.
For more information visit www.cambridgesquaretn.com.