Saturday, June 17, 2006
Staples might be moving into Tanglewood Mall
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
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Another piece of the retail puzzle at Tanglewood Mall has been solved.
It looks like Staples, a national office supply retailer, will move into a 23,000-square-foot space beside the new T.J. Maxx at the Roanoke County mall on Electric Road. Officials in Roanoke County's building office already have approved plans for contractors to begin creating the shell for the new spot that is labeled as Staples' home, said Joel Baker, Roanoke County's building commissioner.
T.J. Maxx, which renovated and moved into about 43,000 square feet at the left end of the mall this spring, didn't fill up the entire 50,000-square-foot spot that formerly housed Brendle's, a discount retailer.
There's some room left over. It appears that Staples will take the rest of that space and then some, stretching out into a part of the existing mall area, Baker said.
That portion of the mall currently is blocked by a wall that's up beside a Hallmark store. A sign there states, "Area closed for construction. Stay tuned for details."
Other news about Staples' buildout at the mall is unknown.
Tanglewood's manager, Wendy Akers, would not comment about the store's plans at the mall.
There already is a Staples less than a mile up Electric Road from Tanglewood. It is unclear if that store will close if the new one opens at the mall.
A representative with Staples, based in Massachusetts, said a lease has not been signed for a new store at Tanglewood.
The Electric Road Staples opened in 1994, said Mylissa Tsai, a spokeswoman for Staples.
There also is another Roanoke Valley Staples on Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke, beside Target.
Staples isn't the only new store that is coming to the mall.
If you walk into Tanglewood Mall during the day, you'll hear drills blaring and some banging noises as workers make room for a new anchor, Steve & Barry's University Sportswear.
As reported, the sports apparel retail chain based in New York will open in October on the mall's upper level.
It will stretch from T.J. Maxx's former second-level spot through the food court. The store will measure about 48,000 square feet.
Food court retailers and some other shops at Tanglewood will move into an area just across from the current food court.
Work already has begun to fill in this open mezzanine space with a floor that would take up 2,500 square feet, county building plans say.
Excluding some of the food court retailers, it is unclear whether all of the other shops on the mall's second level that are near the food court will move to the new floor area.
Danny Watson, owner of Watson's Tobacco, said for personal and business reasons, he's not moving his store to a newly created space on the second level.
His store is located beside the food court.
Watson's lease expires in January, and then he'll decide whether to close or reopen his shop somewhere else.
There's been other retail activity at and near the mall.
In January, A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts opened on the lower level, near Stein Mart.
And Panera Bread Co., a trendy bakery and cafe chain, will open July 31 in an outparcel space in front of the mall, in the former Mac & Maggie's spot.
