Hobby Lobby Takes 50,000 SF at 162,000-SF Plaza

STATESBORO, GA-Retailer Hobby Lobby has signed a 50,000-sf lease and will be one of the anchors of the 162,000-sf Statesboro Crossing shopping plaza. The retail asset is rising at the southwest corner of Brannen Street and the Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Statesboro Crossing is a 50/50 joint venture between Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc. and Atlanta-based Ewing Southeast Realty. Projected to open in fall 2008, Statesboro Crossing will be an open-air shopping center featuring anchors, specialty shops, restaurants and freestanding retail space. The other anchor tenant will be TJ Maxx, with other tenants including Rack Room Shoes.

Staubach Co. VP of Atlanta’s retail office Steve Gunning and SVP of Dallas’s retail office Mike Leonard represented Hobby Lobby.

The project site is adjacent to a Wal-Mart SuperCenter and a Lowe’s, and is located less than one-quarter mile from Statesboro Mall, which is anchored by JCPenney, Belk, Sears and a 12-screen Carmike Cinema. It is also in close proximity to Georgia Southern University. Chattanooga, TN-based Artech Design Group is the architect on the project. Chattanooga-based EMJ Corp. is the general contractor.

Ewing Southeast Realty is a retail development company specializing in land and shopping center development. The company currently has projects under development in Covington, Lovejoy, and Villa Rica, GA as well as a project in Albertville, AL. CBL owns and manages three other regional malls in Georgia including Arbor Place in Douglasville, Georgia Square in Athens, and Walnut Square in Dalton and two associated centers.