Construction underway at new Albertville shopping center

Published: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 5:22 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 5:24 p.m.

ALBERTVILLE Construction is underway at The Shoppes of Albertville, an $18 million, 135,000-sqaure-feet development that already is 92 percent leased.

GBT Realty Corporation, a commercial real estate development and net lease company based in Brentwood, Tenn., closed on the 13.2-acre site Dec. 29.

Tenants including PetSmart, T.J.Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Ross Dress for Less and Hibbett Sports already are lined up to join the center. There is an additional space for a junior anchor and a little more than 11,000 square feet of small shop space.

We are extremely excited about this retail development and the opportunity that it will give our citizens, neighbors and visitors to shop in Albertville, Mayor Tracy Honea said. The retailers GBT has already recruited will fill a void in our market for those soft goods and services provided. Im confident they will experience great success here.

GBT entered into a development agreement with the city, which is selling bonds to provide $5 million of funding to offset predevelopment and development costs. A portion of the sales tax generated at the shopping center will pay off the bonds.

The Shoppes of Albertville is situated at the intersection of the primary north/south and east/west commercial corridors through Northeast Alabama, approximately halfway between Huntsville and Gadsden, ideal sites to support the expansion plans of our retail partners, said Thom Hickman, GBTs senior vice president for acquisitions and development.

Jeff Pape, managing director for GBTs shopping center division, said shoe retailers, fast casual dining options and service-oriented tenants are being sought.

Overall, GBT has $65 million of retail space totaling more than 300,000 square feet planned or under development throughout Alabama. The company has projects in 21 states, with $1 billion of commercial development totaling 5 million square feet in the pipeline and under construction.

We are honored to have the most active private developer in the country bringing its expertise to the Albertville community, Honea said. We can only hope that this is one of many more announcements to come from GBT for our community.

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Construction underway at new Albertville shopping center