Garden Ridge leases former Turkey Creek Public Market in Knoxville

8/17/2012

The departure of the Turkey Creek Public Market is making room for a new home décor chain.

First Commercial Real Estate announced that Houston-based retailer Garden Ridge has signed a lease to occupy the full 163,000-square-foot market space, which is located on Outlet Drive in Knoxville.

First Commercial President Keith Widmer, who brokered the deal, said he reached out to the chain last year and that Garden Ridge was trying to find a location in the Knoxville market.

"They kept coming back to the Public Market and we finally figured out a way to make it work," he said.

According to a news release, Garden Ridge has 53 stores in 19 states.

The announcement is just the latest chapter in an explosion of new retail offerings that have been announced in recent months, many of them in West Knoxville.

Grocery chains Publix and Trader Joe's both opened their first Knoxville locations this month — Publix at Northshore Town Center, Trader Joe's at Suburban Plaza — and wholesale club Costco is currently developing its first Knoxville location, near the intersection of Kingston Pike and Lovell Road, a short drive from the Public Market site.

Sporting goods retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors opened its first Knoxville location in 2011, near the intersection of Cedar Bluff Road and Kingston Pike, not far from the site of a 117,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace store that opened earlier this year.

The Garden Ridge location will also be located across Interstate 40 from the Turkey Creek shopping center, the hugely successful retail development.

According to its website, Garden Ridge has one other Tennessee store, in Memphis, although it also has locations in Lexington, Ky., Greenville, S.C., and suburban Atlanta.

Merchandise advertised on the site ranged from wood and wicker patio furniture to Christmas lights and decorations to living room furniture.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel