Store breaks ground; two up in air
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on May 25, 2014 1:50 AM
Dick's Sporting Goods is coming.
Panera Bread might be.
And there is even speculation that PetSmart will find a home in Goldsboro.
Site work began Wednesday on a Dick's Sporting Goods that will be constructed off of Mall Road and site plans have been submitted for approval for a Panera Bread near Ridgecrest Drive.
A PetSmart planned to be in a section of the Dick's building is still in the air however, Goldsboro Planning Director James Rowe said.
Site work began Wednesday clearing the six-acre lot for the nearly 56,000-square-foot building meant to house the two stores.
The site plans, approved in March, show that the majority of the building would house the Dick's store while the rest would be devoted to PetSmart.
"Dick's got the permit to grade the site," Rowe said. "They are coming, but PetSmart, we aren't so sure."
Rowe said that the building will be completed with space for a second store whether that store is PetSmart or not.
"There will be place for somebody, not sure who yet," Rowe said. "The city hopes its PetSmart, but we don't know."
Dick's Sporting Goods is expected to open next spring.
Ken McCoy with Faison, the construction management company handling the site work for the mall, said his company will release the engineered pad for the buildings to the developers Aug. 1.
He added that the site will have to be built up four feet in some areas to make an even grade across the lot.
"You see how it's a bowl-shaped lot," McCoy said. "We just have to move a lot of dirt to bring that up."
Dick's entered into a contract to lease the land, which the mall owns.
The mall will continue to manage the property.
"One thing we did here is we're using local companies," McCoy said. "We didn't bring outside folks in. I don't know what the contractor will do, so I can't speak for him, but we didn't bring anybody in."
McCoy said the store will be a huge economic investment in Wayne County and will give people a convenience that has been up to an hour away before now.
"They'll finally get a good bona fide sports store where you can buy golf clubs and all kinds of other sports equipment," he said. "Before people would have to drive to Greenville for that."
Access to the store would be provided along Eastgate Drive as well as Mall Road.
After McCoy releases the engineered pad to the builders, his company will stay on site finishing up the site work for the building including a 279 parking space lot and trees and shrubbery around the property
And in the meantime, a once-stalled restaurant project is getting new life.
The Goldsboro Planning Commission has recommended that the City Council approve a request from the corporation pushing to build a Panera Bread at the intersection of Berkeley Boulevard and Ridgecrest Drive at its meeting Monday night.
The corporation, Berkeley Boulevard Investors, LLC, is seeking to have the property for the restaurant rezoned from a Neighborhood Business Conditional District to a General Business Conditional District to allow for a drive-through.
The council is expected to vote on the issue at its meeting June 2.