New development with 5 retailers planned in southeast Chickasha
Story by Mike W. Ray, The Southwest Ledger
The founder of Aria Development, whose businesses were the focus of Chickasha’s first tax increment financing district, announced plans for five more new retail stores in southeast Chickasha.
Sassan Moghadam said Aria’s existing development on East Grand Avenue will expand with the construction of all-new retail space. Confirmed tenants will include Burlington Coat Factory, Five Below, PetSmart, T.J. Maxx and Ulta Beauty Supply.
The five retailers will occupy a building that will encompass approximately 73,000 square feet, Moghadam said. Burlington will have approximately 20,000 square feet of floor space, he said; Ulta and Five Below, about 8,000 sf each; T.J. Maxx, 24,000 sf; and PetSmart, 12,000-plus sf.
Five Below has signed a letter of intent, while the four other tenants have signed 10year leases, Moghadam said.
The new development will be located south of Grand Avenue, directly behind Jimmy’s Egg, Interurban and Tractor Supply, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and Interstate 44.
“We plan to break ground and start construction December 1,” Moghadam said.
He also announced that two more national brands, McAlister’s Deli and Wingstop, will move into existing storefronts in town. “We hope Wingstop will be operational by the first of the year,” he said.
Another phase of development, which hopefully would include Lowe’s or Home Depot, is on the drawing board, Moghadam said, “but the market is still green,” he added.
The new expansion has been made possible through “considerable effort and collaboration between Aria and the City of Chickasha,” said Jim Cowan, director of the Chickasha Economic Development Council. City staff and the developer “have been working closely for several months to resolve outstanding infrastructural, legal and financial barriers to the project,” he said.
“We’ve been negotiating with them for the last 18 months,” Moghadam stated during the Sept. 2 City Council meeting.
The CEDC estimates the total annual sales impact of the new stores could be more than $30 million, based on average sales per unit nationwide. Also, they could create more than 150 jobs and generate $1.3 million in direct sales tax revenue for the city each year, Cowan said.
“Since we started telling our story about Chickasha having a trade area of over 120,000 population,” said Cowan, “we think it helped the developer get the attention of retailers.”
