Posted on Tuesday, 11th May 2010 by Jeremy Lee


KINGSPORT — Food City is planning to bring a new grocery store to downtown Kingsport next year.

Steve Smith, CEO of Food City parent company K-VA-T Food Stores, said Friday his company is hoping to build a new store on the old Quebecor property in downtown Kingsport. Smith said Food City officials have wanted to locate a store in this area of Kingsport for a long time.

“It’s an area we don’t particularly service very well with our other stores. We’ve looked at several different locations, and this one would certainly be our first choice,” Smith said Friday afternoon.

Mayor Dennis Phillips said Friday the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider Food City’s plans at its June 1 meeting. The idea is for Food City to purchase a portion of the Quebecor property (the Center Street/Roller Street block) from the city for $1 million. Kingsport would then demolish the old Kingsport Press buildings and perform some site work for Food City. Phillips said Kingsport estimates the demolition and site work to be $300,000 to $400,000.

“All of this is subject to approval by the BMA, and (City Manager John Campbell) is talking to board members individually beginning today,” Phillips said, noting Kingsport was officially notified about the offer Thursday night. “Food City is willing to build if we can come to terms on the site.”

Phillips, who has spoken to Food City officials about the new store, said no decision has been made on the size of the new grocery store, but he noted the new development would include a Gas-N-Go station and possibly a small retail strip center.

Smith said the new store would be a multi-use facility.

“It would allow for some additional development besides a Food City store. You could probably have 20,000 square feet of shops, restaurants — maybe even be able to go a double-decker on it to put some offices in there as well,” Smith said. “That would be part of what we would want to do if we buy the property.”

Phillips said Food City would like to get under roof by Thanksgiving.

But Smith said that may not be possible.

“My guess is, we’d have a hard time getting the store open this year. But I think we could get construction started this year and have the store opened early next year if everything were to go as we hope,” Smith said.

Once complete, Food City would have three stores in the Model City — one on Eastman Road, another in Colonial Heights, and the third one downtown. The store would be just one block away from the recently remodeled and renamed IGA on Sullivan Street.

Phillips said most everything on the Kingsport Press side of the property will likely be demolished for the new development. The old Holliston Mills buildings will remain, and the Kingsport Farmers Market will still use the lot at the corner of Center and Clinchfield.

Smith said he wants the farmers market near the new Food City.

“We think the farmers market being on the property certainly just adds to the attractiveness of the real estate,” Smith said. “I think it complements the location more than hurts it.”

City officials have discussed moving the farmers market into the old Holliston Mills buildings.

“I don’t think a decision has been made (regarding the two water towers). I hope to keep them, but (the project) may be more expensive,” Phillips said. “We looked at painting them, and ultimately we would like to do that, but the expense was so much we couldn’t justify it.”

In 2007, Kingsport gave Glenwood Development Co. $750,000 in tax increment financing (TIF) for the redevelopment of the Crown Point shopping center. That redevelopment completely transformed the property and included a new Food City grocery store — the largest one for the company. Just like Crown Point, the Quebecor property is located in a redevelopment district (the downtown one) and TIF would be available.

Phillips said at this point, there has been no discussion on incentives for the project.

“I think you have to take into consideration the price of the land and other things when you do this. Should there be? We’re not going to volunteer anything other than the sale price,” Phillips said.

Smith said TIF is not included in the proposed deal.

“We haven’t asked for anything on this,” he said.

Kingsport has been working to redevelop the property since accepting it as a gift from Quebecor in 2007. Steps taken include:

•Contracting with a local architectural firm — Wright and Henderson — to create a conceptual plan for the property.

•Demolishing some of the newer warehouses along Center Street and the interior structures between the Press and Holliston Mills buildings to help make the property more attractive for development.

•Relocating the farmers market to the corner of Center and Clinchfield in 2009.

•Working with the Press Group LLC, which plans to redevelop 200,000 square feet of the property on the Sullivan Street side. The Press Group intends to redevelop that site into a multi-use professional complex with physicians offices, medical ancillary support services, professional spaces and possible residential lofts.

Now, two and a half years after acquiring the 20-acre property, most of the space appears to be spoken for.

“This is a major, major boost for downtown,” Phillips said.

Under the Wright and Henderson conceptual plan, most of the buildings were shown to be demolished, except the original 1922 Kingsport Press building and the original 1926 Holliston Mills structure. The architects sought to preserve the history of the site and reclaim the original 1920s buildings. Under their plan, the old water towers and brick chimney would also be restored as reminders of what the property once was.

“As far as the historical significance of the Press building, I’m sure some people think it has a significant amount of historical value. I think realistically, you have to look at the building and what is feasible,” Phillips said. “We have taken several prospects in that building, and the word we kept getting was it is positively cost prohibitive to go in there and redo that building.

“This is a bird in hand, and that plan was just conceptual, and my greatest fear is it will sit there 20 years from now with what we have now.”

In addition to Food City, Phillips said Kingsport spoke to Kroger and Ingles officials about locating a new grocery store on the Quebecor property, but only Food City expressed any interest.

Times-News Business Editor Sharon Caskey Hayes contributed to this report.

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