On Oct. 12, Searcy held the official ribbon cutting ceremony for a new shopping center, located less than a mile from Harding\u2019s campus. Searcy Mayor David Morris, President of Capital Growth Buchalter Robert Buchalter, and Harding University President Bruce McLarty spoke at the event. The shopping center is positioned on Beebe Caps Blvd., and will have direct visibility from U.S. 67\/167. Stores plan to open between the summer and fall of 2018. Future shops confirmed include Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ulta and Petco. Mayor Morris described this as a \u201cwin-win\u201d for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cA development of this size obviously will bring a lot of people and draw a lot of people from all outside the area into town to shop,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n
Capital Growth Buchalter, a development company from Birmingham, Alabama, is overseeing the project and will conduct all construction.<\/p>\n
Jason Garcille, a representative from Capital Growth Buchalter, said that the shopping center will offer residents of Searcy and White County greater availability to retailers both as consumers and potential employers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is creating a lot of good opportunities for people to go to work,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThey\u2019re talking about around 300 new jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb Russell, lifetime Searcy resident and senior at Harding, said that he is excited to see the business and people the shopping center will bring to Searcy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you have big name brands come in, it encourages people to come and shop,\u201d Russell said. \u201cAnd it just brings a lot of new money, new wealth into the town.\u201d<\/p>\n
This will also be a great opportunity for businesses already in Searcy to get some new revenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you get people into town to shop, it helps everyone,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIf they can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for at that development they\u2019ll go shop at other retail outlets in Searcy. It also brings people into town that normally are hungry when they\u2019re here, so they visit our local restaurants. They also buy gasoline while they\u2019re here. So it\u2019s good for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The construction that will be going on in the coming months is only phase one for this project. Phase two, which will include a Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods, will begin soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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