Knoxville News features a story about Loudon County. The area boast impressive economic numbers, but not much retail!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 By Liz Engel
At first glance, the numbers are impressive.
Loudon County boasts the highest job growth in East Tennessee, its housing values are far exceeding national and state averages, and its population has increased more than 16 percent from 2000-2007, making it the 10th fastest growing community in the state.
Now if only those 44,000-plus residents had somewhere to shop.
The lack of retail currently serving the county – from clothing, grocers, electronics stores and more – has hit such a nerve, the issue is headlining the efforts of the Loudon County Economic Development Agency. The group issued a statement recently urging retailers to start looking their way, touting its high points and hoping to address the fact the area is “dramatically underserved” by retail.
“We’ve been very successful in Loudon County with industrial parks, maintaining a good job base and things of that nature, but we’ve not been aggressive in trying to get that retail in,” said county Mayor Doyle Arp. “When you look at the sales tax dollars for Knox County, Knox city and Farragut, compared to us and knowing what our income stream is, it’s just evident that money’s being spent out of the county.”
And the county is losing millions. A study by research firm Claritas found more than $113 million is being lost in retail leakage each year.
“We’re looking at the figures, and we’re also hearing it from the public,” said Patrick Phillips, president of the county’s economic development agency. “Our people locally are mostly shopping in the Turkey Creek area, West Town Mall. But the gas thing has a lot of people wanting to stay home more and not drive to Knoxville and surrounding areas.”
Phillips said Loudon’s location at the crossroads of Interstates 75 and 40, its residents’ buying power with a median income of $46,828 – 110 percent of the state level – and the spiking growth at residential developments that have flourished around Tellico Lake, Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun Lake and Melton Hill Lake, make it an attractive location.
“I think a lot of retailers are not initially looking at the numbers and seeing how strong we are financially as far as demand and income,” Phillips said. “Locals are spending over $113 million for retail purchases outside of the county. That presents a tremendous opportunity for retailers.”
Several years ago, Loudon County had several retailers in its two major cities, according to Arp.
“In the ’60s and ’70s we had clothing stores in both Lenior City and Loudon. Not just one, but a good three in each location, and they did good business,” Arp said. “But when the malls came in, people just kind of migrated to Knoxville, and those folks went out of business.
“I’m a shop at home type of guy, but it’s one of those things, you can’t buy a suit of clothes, things like that,” Arp said.
Clothing is just one of the areas where the county is losing sales tax revenue. Home improvement stores, vehicle and parts dealers, furniture stores and other stores have also been targeted as their biggest need, Phillips said.
He stopped short of saying the situation was crucial, but said it was something that could be turned around fairly quickly.
“As the economy improves, which we hope is in the near future, we’ll start seeing more interest,” Phillips said. “Developers see the market growing.”
The agency lists dozens of properties as potential sites, including Town Creek Center, a 300-acre mixed-use project currently under way in Lenior City off of Highway 321. The real estate and investment firm Tetra Companies has contracted a yet-to-be-announced big-box retailer, and things are picking up at that site, according to Marketing Director John Dinsmore.
“If you’re new to the area, a lot of the growth and a lot of the wealth doesn’t hit you in the face immediately because a lot of it’s down close to the lake,” Dinsmore said. “I think in general, people who are now driving to other points would like to have more daily conveniences close to them. We’ve talked to a lot of people in Tellico Village and other developments who say they need to pack a cooler to go grocery shopping, because if they’re going to get ice cream, it’s going to take them awhile to get there.”
Dinsmore said announcement of which big-box retailer will anchor the center is expected in the fall, and other retailers – such as restaurants and electronics stores – will quickly fill the surrounding space.
“We are moving as fast as we can, but the demand is really overwhelming. … Nationwide, the economy is less certain, so you really have to knock a retailer’s socks off to get them to come to a development. We feel fortunate that, because of the stats (here), we’ve been on the quality side,” Dinsmore said.
Arp cited other developments such as Food City, which is planning to construct a new 44,000-square-foot “superstore” in Lenior City in Town Creek, and an “upscale” Food Lion under way at the corner of Highways 72 and 444 that will serve Tellico Village, as developments already creating a buzz.
“When these anchor tenants start building, that spurs some smaller retail stores in that type of development,” Arp said. “All that stuff is good for the county. Anytime you look at sales tax dollars, most of that goes back into the school system and things like that. And of course you want to have better schools.
“For the lack of a better term, there wasn’t a concerted effort before to put in strip malls and things of that nature,” he said. “And now that’s changing.”
