By: Fred Pace fpace@hdmediallc.com
BARBOURSVILLE – Anyone who has driven by the Tanyard Station shopping center in Barboursville can see construction is back after some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brent Roswall, a native of Barboursville and co-owner of INTERSTATE Realty of Bristol, Tennessee, the developer of Tanyard Station, says four new retail stores are being built. “We are currently under construction with Academy, PetSmart, Skechers and Starbucks, he said.
Roswall says Academy Sports + Outdoors, a sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer, will open its first location in West Virginia at the site, hopefully by the fall. “Retail is still experiencing delays in electrical components and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning),” he said. “This is causing turnover time to tenants to take longer than expected. Some tenants have slowed expansion waiting on labor and inventories to catch up. Total development cost has risen over 25% in the last year alone and has not slowed in 2022.” Roswall said all of the new retail businesses are part of Tanyard’s Phase 2 development. “We have two other tenants, each 20,000 square feet, that we are negotiation with and hope to announce soon, ” he said. “This will leave us two parcels left to develop and this will complete Tanyard Station as it will be fully built out.” The current site plan map also shows a new hotel. “The hotel approval has not been obtained, but we are diligently working to finalize it,” Roswall we are diligently working to finalize it, ” Roswall said. “Hopefully, this will be a fall start or early spring 2023.”
The site plan map also shows the location of the proposed hotel and the available pad next to Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes & Fries. It is labeled “proposed restaurant. “We are currently negotiating with a user and hope to announce soon,” Roswall said.
Tanyard Station is located along U.S. 60 at the junction of the Big Ben Bowen Highway (W.Va.193). It is on the 51.73-acre site of the former CSX railroad yard off Exit 18 of INTERSTATE 64 Current tenants include Menards, LongHorn Steak House, Aldi, Sheetz, Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes & Fries, Sports Clips, Aspen Dental and Verizon Wireless. INTERSTATE Realty is also the developer of Merritt Creek Farm strip mall in Barboursville and the Stadium Center in Huntington. “Merritt Creek Farm is 98% leased.” he said. “We have a 2,000-square-feet vacancy, beside Orange Theory.”
Roswall said Merritt Creek Farm has lost AC Moore, Dress Barn, Catherines and Sprint. “We backfilled Dress Barn with 5 Below, Catherines with Buff City Soap and AC Moore with (Ross) Dress For Less that should open in the fall.” he said. Roswall says Tanyard Station and Merritt Creek Farm bring in shoppers from three states and several counties. “The trade area is well over 300,000 people,” he said. He added that events such as regional youth soccer tournaments that come to Barboursville help drive traffic to the shopping centers.
“All local events helps our centers, especially the restaurants,” he said. Roswall said the new Stadium Center should also open by the fall this year. “It will have Starbucks, Papa Johns, Qdoba and Smoothie King,” he said.
