Construction of the new Ross department store at Capital Mall in Jefferson City is slated to begin early this week, said Rob Kingsbury of Farmer Holding Company.
"Ross is a national retailer with over 1,000 stores, and they have a very strong following," Kingsbury said. "It's one of the first national retailers that have studied and understood our total redevelopment plan and not only believe in what the mall is today but, most importantly, believe in what the mall will be in the near future."
Farmer Holding Company purchased Capital Mall in late 2012, and has been constructing a long-term improvement plan for the 1977-built retail facility since then, with some funding help from a Tax Increment Financing district and a Community Improvement District approved by the City Council last year.
The 24,000-square-foot Ross store will be located between the mall's JCPenney and Sears wings at the former location of Wilson's Fitness, which has relocated near Dillard's. The store will have its own outside entrance and external signage, along with a new stonework facade and 3,300-square-foot building expansion.
Kingsbury said the construction should be completed by the end of August, hopefully with an agreement between the mall and Ross, Inc., to open the store around that time.
The project will begin with demolition work, as well as putting up a temporary interior partition wall to separate the construction area from the general public inside the mall.
The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission approved a preliminary version of Capital Mall's long-term exterior improvement plan, which includes new building facades, signage, landscaping and zoning designation. The plan goes next to the City Council for final approval; a public hearing will be held at the council's March 2 meeting, after which Kingsbury hopes the mall owners will be able to begin some exterior improvements later this year.
"We just appreciate more than anything the shoppers that shop at Capital Mall and the excitement that they've shared with us," Kingsbury said. "The feedback that we've gotten is overwhelmingly positive."