The new “Waynesville Pavilion” would bring 200 permanent jobs through a $15+ Million development and new retail center anchored by Publix grocery store.
If you live in Haywood County, you’ve heard the rumors for months—a couple years, even. Something big has been brewing at the corner of Russ Avenue and Frazier Street, behind Waynesville’s Sagebrush Steakhouse. But it wasn’t until last week that the rumors were confirmed.
After a public hearing and hour-long presentation to the Waynesville Planning Board, developers at MAB American Management, LCC have cleared their first hurdle for a major retail development.
The proposed “Waynesville Pavilion” will encompass four parcels on 6.3 acres just off the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway. The project will include a 49,098-square-foot retail store and a separate 7,200-square-foot building that will house up to six tenants. And while MAB American has not yet confirmed the anchor tenant of the project, paperwork filed in the planning office confirms that it will be Publix.
Several businesses currently exist in the area, including the Big Red Barn, Lodge Motel, and a number of warehouse businesses up Frazier Street. If the project is approved, these would be demolished to make way for the redevelopment. MAB American is also seeking a “conditional district rezoning” within the Russ Avenue Regional Center Conditional District in order to have flexibility in the design and layout of the new structures, parking lot, and additional infrastructure of the site. As it stands now, the site plan submitted includes widening and improvements for Frazier Street, which will serve as the entrance for the pavilion. The plan is also in line with projected road widening work and improvement planned for Russ Avenue, set for construction in 2022.
According to Town Planner Elizabeth Teague, MAB plans to invest $15–20 million to redevelop these properties. Teague claims the project will revitalize the area through a retail center that will provide up to 200 permanent jobs, as well as through 200 construction jobs over the 18-month construction period.
Should the development go through as planned, this will be the fourth Publix in Western North Carolina, following locations in Asheville, Weaverville, and Boone. Publix is the largest employee-owned grocery chain in the United States, with nearly 1,200 locations throughout Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. The company is also one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the country, with retail sales in 2016 reaching $34 billion.