Posted on Jun 13, 2003

Montgomery residents have only known about Hyundai's imminent arrival since April. Which means there must have been something else driving retail growth in Montgomery this past year. The Shoppes at EastChase, a new $50 million outdoor shopping center in east Montgomery, has gotten most of the attention. But 2002 also greeted several other significant retail developments, including Pepper Tree II on Vaughn Road, a new Burlington Coat Factory and the Super Wal-Mart-anchored Oliver Creek Crossing shopping center on Atlanta Highway. Next year is likely to bring a second phase to Festival Plaza at Taylor and Vaughn roads, Woodmere Crossing -- a shopping strip on East Boulevard with a Best Buy electronics store -- and new stores at the Shoppes at EastChase. With the new shops added in Montgomery this year -- about 60 -- and many more coming, some local industry observers are wondering whether the Capital City will be able to absorb the growth. "Can Montgomery support it?" asks Eric Higgins, president of Colonial Commercial Realty in Montgomery. "I think that's the question." For his part, Higgins said: "I wouldn't want to have a new project breaking ground right now." Yet there is wide optimism that Hyundai Motor Co.'s decision to build a $1 billion auto assembly plant in Montgomery by 2004 and that the thousands of new jobs and residents coming with it will spur demand for more shopping options. "It's certainly going to help the city offset an overbuilt situation," said Jerry Kyser, owner of Kyser Properties, a local real estate development firm with local shopping centers. Kyser believes the next 12 to 24 months will continue to be rife with opportunity in the retail sector. Charles Alexander, assistant manager of the Kinnucan's outdoor clothing store in the Shoppes at EastChase, says that business has slowed down since the store's opening Nov. 7. -- Eleanor DeSantis, Advertiser "I think Montgomery is positioned to absorb a good bit more retail," he said. That's more than idle talk. Developers like Kyser are banking on such a prediction. After opening Pepper Tree shopping center in the 8100 block of Vaughn Road about three years ago, Kyser Properties unveiled a seven-store spin-off in August called Pepper Tree II. This month, Kyser came before the Montgomery City Planning Commission, requesting permission to rezone a piece of land at the corner of Halcyon Park Drive and Old Federal Road for another shopping strip. He said the 18,000-square-foot center he is envisioning would have 10 to 12 shops and no anchor tenants, such as a grocery store or department store. The zoning request and Kyser's development plan are expected to go before the City Council for approval next month. Carl Bartlett, a senior vice president with Jim Wilson Associates, developer of the Shoppes at EastChase, said one of the biggest factors driving recent retail growth has been the residential migration to east Montgomery. "Retail follows people," he said. While his firm has been working on the EastChase project for several years, Bartlett said his team opened the center this month at a fortuitous time -- when residential and commercial development in the east is at its height and momentum from the Hyundai announcement is still driving growth. "Developers always say: location, location, location," he said. "But we've added a fourth one: location and timing." Colonial's Eric Higgins believes new shopping strips will continue popping up in east Montgomery. "But you hope the Hyundai announcement will ignite some interest in the south side, too," he said. Retailers are expected to coalesce around the Hyundai plant site eight miles south of downtown and along the southern bypass once the Korean automaker opens but have so far waited on the sidelines. Elsewhere, there is little evidence that the increase in local retail development this year has brought a similar boost in sales tax collections to the county.