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One down, 5 to go at Market Square

By EMILY NIPPS
Published December 17, 2006

After years of missed target opening dates, BJ's Wholesale Club is finally in business at the Market Square at Tampa Palms shopping center.

Now, the 306,303-square-foot center awaits five more major retail chains.

Bed, Bath & Beyond, Staples, PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less and A.C. Moore will be joining BJ's in 2007, said Warren Kinsler, the center's developer.

And there is still plenty of space about 15,000 square feet for more tenants.

"There will be some room for community use, some small stores," Kinsler said. "But that list probably won't be finalized until late 2007 or 2008."

At least one more large anchor store could move into the center, which Kinsler is still negotiating.

He has dropped hints about attracting a major bookstore, such as Borders, which would be a first in New Tampa.

Four of the five announced stores are established chains in the Tampa Bay area. A.C. Moore, an arts and crafts store, will be the first in Tampa.

Construction on the stores' structure will begin sometime in 2007, and Kinsler said he hopes most or all of his new tenants will be in before 2008. "Some may deliver a little earlier than others," he said.

The shopping center, which is located in Tampa Palms Area 3 on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard (near Interstate 75), has been a long-awaited project by New Tampa shoppers. Kinsler hoped the first shop would be open for business in the fall of 2004, then the winter of 2005.

BJ's, a warehouse retail store similar to Sam's Club, opened recently after eight months of construction.

Emily Nipps can be reached at (813) 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 16, 2006, 20:58:21]