John Blue Realty

Dick's to build in Jones Valley

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

By GINA HANNAH

Times Business Writer gina.hannah@htimes.com

Sporting goods store should open by next spring

Dick's Sporting Goods will open its second Huntsville store, at Valley Bend at Jones Farm.

The 48,000-square-foot store should open next spring, said Raymond Jones, developer of Valley Bend. The store will be built on the northwest side of the development, near Fleet Feet Sports.

Construction is expected to begin in a few weeks.

Pittsburgh-based Dick's operates more than 340 stores in 38 states selling sporting goods, equipment, apparel and footwear. Its current local store is at Westside Centre on University Drive; both Westside and Valley Bend are anchored by SuperTarget.

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday.

Dick's will be the last "big-box" store at Valley Bend's 110-acre site at Carl T. Jones Drive and Four Mile Post Road. About 15,000 square feet of retail space, plus a couple of smaller standalone sites typically leased or sold to restaurants and banks, remain to be built.

"We don't have a whole lot of room left," he said of Valley Bend, which opened in fall 2001.

Jones said he's been corresponding with prospective tenants for the remaining sites but has no firm agreements. Concerns over the slowing economy have caused many national retailers to pull back on expansion plans, he said.

In addition to the Dick's construction, the city is building a 25-acre park and greenway west of Valley Bend on land donated by the Jones family. The park will include two man-made lakes, a 12-foot-wide greenway, two pavilions with picnic tables and a parking area.

Don Beck of The Shopping Center Group in Huntsville represented Dick's in the lease negotiations.