Hobby Lobby plans Bechtle location, leaving Upper Valley

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey


Staying with the story

The Springfield News-Sun has written extensively about the plan to develop the area north of Walmart on Bechtle Avenue since the story first broke earlier this year.

By the numbers

55,000: Total square footage at the planned Hobby Lobby location on North Bechtle Avenue.

650: Hobby Lobby locations of more than 55,000-square-feet nationwide.

9: Number of possible stores, including two big-box stores, at the planned development on North Bechtle Avenue.

Hobby Lobby will relocate from its current spot near the Upper Valley Mall to a new development on Bechtle Avenue, the fifth anchor store to depart from the mall area over the past couple of years.

The national arts and crafts chain, currently located at 1390 Upper Valley Pike, has submitted plans to build a 55,000-square-foot facility north of Walmart on Bechtle Avenue, according to public records obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.

“Our rationale for relocating is to enhance our customers’ shopping experience as we strive to better serve them,” Hobby Lobby spokesman Zack D. Higbee said in an email to the News-Sun. “The construction and opening dates are being determined.”

A building permit application has been submitted but hasn’t been approved yet, according to the city’s building regulations department.

Other anchor stores that have left the mall or the Upper Valley Pike corridor since 2013 include Macy’s, JC Penney, Elder-Beerman and K-Mart. All of those stores closed without opening other Clark County locations.

Meanwhile, the already strong Bechtle Avenue shopping corridor is gaining another possible anchor tenant in Hobby Lobby. This spring a Dick’s Sporting Goods submitted plans for a location on the bustling area.

Earlier this year, city commissioners approved changes to a development plan for the vacant land north of Walmart on Bechtle Avenue near the St. Paris Connector. The development includes up to nine stores, including two large anchors. Hobby Lobby will use one of those anchor locations.

A smaller version of the plan was first approved in 2006, but slowed due to the recession. Neighbors spoke out against the changes, fearing trash and traffic would overwhelm the neighborhood on nearby Home Road and St. Paris Pike.

The development will be a positive sign for Bechtle Avenue, said Springfield Assistant City Manager and Director of Economic Development Tom Franzen.

“The further development and finishing of that northern part would be welcome,” Franzen said. “It’s been sitting vacant and more or less an eyesore for the last few years. It would be good to see it developed.”

While Hobby Lobby leaving German Twp. will be a negative for it, the fact that the retailer will stay in the Springfield market is a good sign, said George Degenhart, German Twp. planning and zoning director. Clark County is a good example of the recent struggles of the retail industry nationwide, he said.

“Everything else we’ve lost, we’ve lost in all of Clark County, which is even more significant,” Degenhart said. “Retail is in very difficult times.”

Degenhart is working to bring new businesses to the Upper Valley Mall and surrounding area, but he said “nothing has been fruitful at all.”

The fact that Hobby Lobby will stay in Clark County is a testament to the strength of Springfield’s retail market, said Horton Hobbs, vice president for economic development at the Chamber of Greater Springfield.

It’s also a good sign for Bechtle Avenue, which is nearing capacity, Hobbs said, and could lead to more opportunities in other areas of the community.

“With that, clearly we have a strong retail demand in our community,” he said. “When that area becomes full, I don’t think that demand is going to go anywhere. There will be new opportunities at development and redevelopment.”

The store’s move, however, will present another challenge to the Upper Valley Mall retail area, Hobbs said. The mall will have life again, he said, it’s just a matter of timing and market conditions. Retailers have been nosing around the vacant areas at the mall, but there has been nothing substantial.

“They’re continually trying to find tenants for the mall,” Hobbs said.

Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Hobby Lobby has more than 650 stores in the country that average 55,000-square-feet in size, according to the company’s website. It specializes in arts and crafts supplies, home decor items and picture framing.

The decision to relocate is surprising, said German Twp. resident Abbey Sayegh, but it won’t keep her from shopping at Hobby Lobby. It’s sad to see another anchor store possibly leave the Upper Valley Mall retail area, she said.

“I don’t know why this is area is dying like this,” Sayegh said. “This area is supposed to be more active.”

The relocation will probably be better for business given the recent mall departures, said Springfield resident Brandi Addis.

“It’s sad for Springfield because everyone goes elsewhere to shop,” Addis said.

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