There is a new article on the www.EastOfHuntsville.com website about the Harris Hills Development going on over at Moores Mill and 72. Here’s the link.

East of Huntsville is a new news and information blog about things of interest to those of us who live and/or work east of Huntsville. Check it out!

Ok, a few days back I posted an article that stated with some enthusiasm that Target is Coming! Well now we see that might not be the case.

In a December 10th blog post on AL.com (actually the day before my aforementioned post) a question is posed whether this was a concept or reality. So AL.com contacted Cole Walker of Walker Family Properties, the developer of the project. In the “interview” Walker says, “…the preliminary site plan…that has circulated recently is “a concept only[.]” He goes on to state that the plan was prepared for a Texas developer (Merchants Holding Company, LLC), “interested in a joint venture…with the developers[.]” (see the full article here)

Despite his statements in the most recent article, the site plan does seem to be consistent with Mr. Walker’s previous concepts for the development. In a November 11th interview by Marian Accardi published in the Huntsville Times (and here on AL.com) Mr. Walker outlines his dream for the property, all of which are included in the site plan.

So the question remains, is Target coming? I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The graphic below is an artists rendering of a future shopping development in east Huntsville. The Harris Hills development will be anchored by a Super Target and will include retail outlets for Barnes & Noble, Ross, Pier 1, J.C. Penny, World Market, Hobby Lobby, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Pets Mart, Best Buy and many more. The develoopment will also include a movie theatre, office space, and multi-family development. The accompanying plans indicate the new 170 acre complex will fill most of the space between Moores Mill Road and Shields Road SOUTH of Highway 72 (click here for a Google map of the location) and will have over 1.1 Million Square Feet of space, and over 7,000 parking spaces.

The development is being spearheaded by Merchants Holding Company, LLC, a Texas based company. According to the company’s web site, MHC specializes “…in the design, development and implementation of specialty retail concepts throughout the United States. The preleminary site plan below was developed by Wakefield Beasley & Associates, an Atlanta based architecture firm.”