New retailers along East County Line are a healthy sign for the shopping area, according to one commercial real estate broker.
“It looks like there are new businesses coming in and it’s good for the area,” said Nancy Lane, a commercial broker for Lane Harkins Commercial Real Estate.
A “Grand Opening!” banner hangs above the entrance to the Roses Discount Store, which occupies the space Best Buy once did in Ridgewood Court shopping center in Jackson.
In the County Line Plaza shopping center in Jackson that includes Conn’s, Big Lots, Burke’s Outlet and Tuesday Morning, Bargain Treasure Hunt draws shoppers. Open since November, the store re-sells merchandise from large retailers, with prices varying according to the day of the week.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, which offers closeout merchandise and excess inventory, fills the spot in Purple Creek Plaza on East County Line Road that for many years was home to Toys R Us.
Overflow retailers should do well during the next year as vendors move along off-season merchandise that they ordered a year ago but didn’t receive in a timely manner because of shipping delays, Lane said.
“There’s good opportunity for shoppers,” she said.
Ashley Hilt, a personal shopper, finds herself on East County Line Road often when she shops for clients at Target. “It’s always super busy,” she said.
Hilt plans to see for herself what shopping at Bargain Treasure Hunt is like. “I’ve heard it’s similar to shopping at a thrift store,” she said.
Other retailers on the East County Line Road shopping corridor are useful to her, Hilt said.
“The T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are wonderful,” she said. “I go there to shop for clothes for my boyfriend. It’s nice to see a lower price point but still find quality.”
Hilt said she’s acquainted with the new Starbucks and she welcomes the addition of Chipotle to the area.
“If you don’t know what you want to eat, there are options in the area,” she said. “Chipotle will be awesome.”
The Ridgeland side of East County Line Road continues to see buildings torn down to make way for new ones and, if they’re not torn down all the way, they’re used in new ways.
Across from the Hilton, a new Starbucks is open on the site of the old Ralph and Kacoo’s restaurant that closed more than 20 years ago.
A Chipotle Mexican Grill, which will be a first for the metro area, has been announced for the site next to Starbucks. The building that houses what was once the Shrimp Basket restaurant, which is no longer in business at that location, will be torn down and Chipotle will occupy a new one built from the ground up.
In front of Northpark, a McAlister’s Deli with a pickup drive-through stands on the site of a former bank branch. Stanton Optical, also in front of the mall, is a similar story; a Mazzio’s Pizza was demolished so its site could be re-used.
Further east on County Line Road, Wesley Biblical Seminary occupies the former state headquarters for an insurance company. Sky Zone Trampoline Park and Crunch Fitness fill out what was once a Kroger grocery store.
Most shopping areas evolve over time and East County Line Road has done so as national retailers have shut down or moved to new shopping areas such as Dogwood Festival Marketplace in Flowood or Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland.
Dental and medical offices have taken some vacant space in shopping centers on East County Line Road. The strip centers offer good signage visibility, locations convenient to homes and excellent parking, Lane said.
Exactly how much commercial space is vacant along East County Line Road isn’t easy to determine, Lane said, noting that the only way to compute that is with a drive to each center to see empty spaces for yourself, a check of a center’s website to see if it lists square footage for the businesses and then coming up with an estimate.
Lane isn’t aware of a report compiled for shopping centers like The Jackson Office Market View, which is based on CBRE’s anecdotal and evidence-based views of the commercial real estate market.
East County Line Road includes locations awaiting new tenants from an empty Academy Sports to a vacant Bed Bath & Beyond to spots here and there in various strip centers.
The city of Jackson and the city of Ridgeland have taken the first step toward a $2.37-million project to resurface East County Line Road from South Wheatley Street to Old Canton Road.
The project calls for milling, adding an overlay of asphalt and re-striping the surface of the road. Some concrete repairs will be made and new traffic detection devices will be added to the poles already in place at East County Line Road and South Wheatley Street, East County Line and Pear Orchard Road, East County Line Road and Avery Boulevard and East County Line Road and Old Canton Road.
That segment of East County Line Road was last resurfaced in 2007-2008 and has begun to show wear and tear.
The city of Ridgeland submitted a pavement project application in October 2021 to the Jackson Metropolitan Planning Organization to request $1.84 million in federal funding for the construction and construction engineering costs associated with the project. The city of Jackson and the city of Ridgeland will each kick in $535,000 for the project.
The city of Ridgeland is responsible for all construction and construction administration of the project.
“We want to have good streets for our citizens to travel and to support our businesses,” said Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee. “It’s a win-win for Jackson and Ridgeland.”
The future of retail since the pandemic is still being determined, Lane said, noting that some people still prefer to shop in person so they can view merchandise before making a purchase.
“I think we’re still evolving and feeling our way through the pandemic,” she said. “Mississippi has been open but other parts of the country have not. I go to Chicago regularly and look up and down Michigan Avenue and see businesses that have not opened and stores that have closed and won’t open again.
“I think we’re still evolving and struggling to find whatever shopping and dining is going to look like. We see a different view here because we’ve been predominantly open.”
