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Bass Pro seen as spur for major growth in area
(The Decatur Daily (AL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 23--If the planned Bass Pro Shops has the same effect it has had in other cities, Decatur will never be the same.
Expect growth in restaurants, retail, residential and even medical fields, say leaders in other communities that have a Bass Pro.
Bass Pro signed a non-binding letter of intent to anchor the proposed Sweetwater development on 540 acres south of Alabama 20 and west of Interstate 65, in the Decatur-annexed portion of Limestone County.
Steve Williamson of Transwestern, a major national commercial real estate company and one of the Sweetwater developers, said it is designed to be a destination point.
He expects numerous restaurants, a hotel and convention center, a state-of-the-art movie theater and possibly a performing arts center. Plans call for 2,700 residential units.
Local leaders hope to see Sweetwater-triggered growth not just on the Alabama 20 corridor between I-65 and U.S. 31, but spreading into Limestone County, to Priceville and into Huntsville.
Three years ago, Broken Arrow, Okla., was facing retail headaches that made Decatur's retail leakage to Huntsville look mild. The city of 98,000 adjoins Tulsa. One of Tulsa's major shopping centers was two miles away, contributing to Broken Arrow having one of the worst sales tax leakage rates in the state.
When Bass Pro Shops came knocking, Broken Arrow leaders pulled together a controversial incentive package similar to the one offered by Decatur. Like the Alabama 20 location, Bass Pro was interested in a location that city leaders thought had potential, but that for years had gone without significant development.
"We're a suburban community and we struggled to find an identity," said Mickey Thompson, executive director of the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce. "Now we're identified as the place that has the Bass Pro Shop. We've gotten eight or 10 restaurants that spun off of it. We've gotten four or five major retail developments that have occurred in the area."
A 60-acre medical complex -- which will include a hospital, medical buildings, two hotels and restaurants -- recently broke ground, with developers saying they liked the location because of its proximity to Bass Pro. The medical complex spurred a flurry of residential development.
A developer announced recently he will locate a retail lifestyle center nearby with restaurants, entertainment and pubs.
'Attention of everybody'
"Bass Pro is the kind of outfit that attracts the attention of everybody that's involved in retail or hotels," Thompson said. "When someone that knows what they're doing did the research and concluded this is a great location for their facility, it sent a signal to a lot of people."
Like business leaders in other cities with a Bass Pro, Thompson said the store provides a twin benefit for its host city. It draws from a multi-state region. As important, it is a stamp of approval. If Bass Pro gives a market the nod, that's good enough for other retailers.
"It's been a tipping point in Broken Arrow's development," Thompson said. "Bass Pro was the instigator of all the development we've seen in that area. None of that development would have happened if they had not put a stake in the ground."
Bass Pro was a tipping point in Prattville, too, said Connie Bainbridge, economic development director of the Prattville Chamber of Commerce. A Bass Pro opened there in August 2007.
"We had a few developers looking at our area," Bainbridge said of the Montgomery surburb. "They were trying to bring us a Target and some restaurants. Once word got out that Bass Pro was looking at our area, I had all these restaurants and retailers call me. 'Can you tell us the status? Is Bass Pro coming? If Bass Pro is coming, we want to be there.' "
An Olive Garden will open near the Prattville Bass Pro in a few weeks, as will a Logan's Roadhouse.
'Because Bass Pro came'
"Once we announced the Bass Pro deal was inked, the letters of intent started coming in," Bainbridge said. "I think a lot of these places are here because Bass Pro came."
While the Bass Pro imprimatur was important, Bainbridge stressed the volume of Bass Pro traffic -- and the demographics of that traffic -- is important.
"If you drive through the Bass Pro parking lot, you'll see tags from Montgomery. You'll see Chilton County, Elmore County, out-of-state tags. This is a regional retailer. Montgomerians are coming to our area," Bainbridge said. "We look at them as the hook to get you here in the community, and that gave other retailers a leg up in keeping you here."
The typical Bass Pro customer is male, drives 75 miles to get to the shop and stays in the store for three hours, Bainbridge said. "What other store gives you those demographics?"
Another developer is starting a J.C. Penny-anchored lifestyle center to take advantage of "the wives and girlfriends that might not want to stay at Bass Pro for three hours," Bainbridge said.
Bass Pro came to Sevierville, Tenn., near Knoxville, in 2004. It too experienced rapid secondary commercial development.
"Within the immediate vicinity of the Bass Pro, there's been a number of retail stores, several restaurants and two hotels," said Bob Stahlke, public information officer for Sevierville.
The city, impressed by the store's traffic and sales tax revenue, is building a nearby event center, improving roads, and constructing a parking center. It has built a hub for its trolley system.
"I can't say the hotels and everything else have been a direct result of the Bass Pro, but certainly it was a factor," Stahlke said. "The Bass Pro was a major reason for retailers and restaurants locating there."
Even before Bass Pro, Sieverville was a tourist destination near the Smoky Mountains. It is within 14 miles of Gatlinburg and six miles of Pigeon Forge with its Dollywood theme park and country theater venues.
Local growth
If the experiences of Broken Arrow, Prattville and Sevierville are indicative, Decatur can expect a flurry of growth -- commercial and residential -- as a result of the Bass Pro.
Where will that growth be?
Everyone agrees the primary growth will be on the Alabama 20 corridor, between I-65 and U.S. 31.
"That whole corridor will become commercial," said Tom Hill, president of the Limestone County Economic Development Association. "I think you'll see more restaurants, more hotels, service-type establishments like a grocery and things that would serve a residential community, too. I think the tone of the corridor will be set by this new development."
Steve Williamson, managing director of Transwestern, one of the Sweetwater developers, agrees.
"Highway 20 is an important east-west corridor, especially as a connector between Decatur and Huntsville," Williamson said. "Plopping this in the middle of those two communities will foster growth from Decatur going east and Huntsville going west."
Limestone homes
Hill expects residential growth in Limestone County as well, aided by the planned Tanner interchange seven miles north.
"There is a lot of primarily flat land that is now in row crops," Hill said. "You'll have two exits that can funnel traffic into 31 and into the interior. You could create a new pocket of residential growth north of 20. Sweetwater does have residential. That would make it likely that you could add some more on the north side of the road."
A bridge from Sweetwater to the north side of Alabama 20, included in the developer's long-term proposal, would increase the potential for residential development.
Priceville Mayor Melvin Duran expects to see increased traffic at the Priceville exit of I-65, one exit south of the Sweetwater development.
More congestion on Alabama 20, he said, will encourage more commuters to use Alabama 67 as their link to I-65.
"That will be good for gas stations, restaurants and fast food places," he said. "You will see a lot of people coming this way to avoid the congestion. It will be a shot in the arm to our economy."
He suspects the increase in tourist traffic generated by Bass Pro and other Sweetwater developments will have long-term benefits for Priceville.
"It could cause another hotel to be built. The hotels now are full when we have a big bass tournament or horse show. We get all the overflow with our four hotels," Duran said. "It could easily cause people to move to Priceville. We're already a bedroom community."
A Sweetwater-like development surrounding a Bass Pro in Bossier City, La., attracts customers from outside the area, said Lisa Johnson, executive director of the Bossier City Chamber of Commerce.
Louisiana Boardwalk reports that $3.25 out of every $5 in revenue comes from out-of-town visitors, Johnson said.
"In the same development there's a Nike store, day spas, an Eddy Bauer, GUESS, Chicos, lots of other retailers," Johnson said. "A lot of eateries came in with Bass Pro, too. A Copelands, Joe's Crab Shack, Buffalo Wild Wings, O'Brien's Irish Pub. As it draws in tourists from out of town, they are looking for additional experiences to extend their stay."
The willingness of Bass Pro customers to drive out of their way to get to it will pay dividends for Decatur, Johnson said.
"If their primary destination is Huntsville, and Bass Pro is only 30 minutes away, they'll drive to Decatur," she said. "They're that dedicated. It will be fantastic, I promise."
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
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