A TJ Maxx and a Hobby Lobby will open in the former Kmart building at 1325 E. Jackson St. in Macomb.
And officials said they could soon announce a third tenant for the building, which has been empty since late 2016.
“It is a good day. It’s been eight years in the making,” said Kim Pierce, Executive Director of the Macomb Area Economic Development Corporation.
The shopping center will be called Prairie Crossing. The news was announced to a crowd that gathered in front of the building on Wednesday morning, April 24.
“I love to see the public be so involved and interested in what’s going to happen,” Pierce said.
She worked with several developers through the years, but was never able to finalize an agreement on the building.
Then California-based Carrington Company agreed to buy it last fall for $1 million.
“They love rural America, and they are really heavily investing in the Macomb market,” Pierce said, noting Carrington has bought other properties in the community too.
“We’re expecting some really big things to come out of this for some of the other properties in Macomb that are ready to be developed.”
Pierce said Carrington will replace the building’s roof and redo the parking lot. She said it will be up to the tenants to renovate the interior spaces they will occupy.
It’s possible one of the retailers will open by the fourth quarter of the year – in time for the holiday shopping season – but that’s not a certainty. Otherwise, all three should open during the first quarter of 2025.
Mayor Mike Inman estimated each store will create 30 to 50 fulltime equivalent jobs.
Carrington will receive a portion of the sales tax revenue generated at the site, up to $1.5 million over the course of the next 20 years. Inman said he does not expect it to take 20 years for Carrington to make that amount.
He said such incentives are common.
“Our friends down in Quincy incentivized the redevelopment of their Kmart into a Target, and that was a $1 million incentive from them,” the mayor said.
“So to be in this range was not unreasonable. It simply would not have happened without it.”
He’s certain Macomb residents are leaving town to shop at these stores in other communities, so he’s happy for the chance to keep those dollars in Macomb.
Inman said the TJ Maxx will be about 22,000 square feet, the Hobby Lobby will be around 55,000 square feet, and the third tenant will occupy about 20,000 square feet.
“Those are not small footprints,” Inman said.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
