It seems that the large Fischer Crossings retail development is back after all.
First came the announcement last month of Sam’s Club and NCG Cinemas. Now developer Scott Seymour says he would like to add to the 400,000 square feet already approved for the 44-acre northeast corner of Ga. Highway 34 and Fischer Road in east Coweta County, about a mile from Peachtree City.
In total, the northeast corner on Fischer Crossings is approved for approximately 400,000 square feet, including a 60,000- to 70,000-square-foot anchor available along with the 40,000-square-foot theaters and a number of outparcels that will essentially line Ga. Highway 54 and Hwy. 34 to Fischer Road.
Seymour said he expects other retail announcements in the coming weeks and months.
Coweta County commissioners in mid-December approved a request by Seymour to decrease the number of outparcels along the Hwy. 54 portion of the property from four to two and reconfigure the placement of the proposed theater site so that it will be situated at the extreme eastern side of the 44-acre property.
Under the request, the development still has approximately 10 outparcels and other buildings stretching mostly along the Hwy. 54/Hwy.34 corridor east of Fischer Road.
There will be a total of four entrances to the northeast portion of Fischer Crossings, one of which will be at the Hwy. 54 traffic light with two other right turn entrances along the corridor. There will also be an entrance to the development on Fischer Road.
But Seymour said he will soon make a zoning request proposal to Coweta County to consider approval of a dual development on 35 acres immediately north of the portion of the northeast corner that is situated adjacent to Fischer Road. Approximately half the acreage would be for future retail with the other half designated for outdoor community sports activities.
Seymour said he has spoken with area soccer and football associations about constructing several fields that could be used by local teams.
As a part of the upcoming proposal, Seymour said he would ask that a portion of Wynn’s Pond Road be re-routed to the north and curve back to the west between the retail area and the sports fields to intersect with Fischer Road.
“That would take traffic further from the light at Hwy. 34,” Seymour said.
He noted that there is no plan for a traffic light at the current Wynn’s Pond Road entrance to the development that sits approximately 600 feet from Hwy. 34. A traffic light could be a possibility for the re-routed roadway if commissioners approve the request, Seymour said.
Commenting on the events of the past couple of years, Seymour last week said he experienced setbacks via the recession and a Chapter 11 reorganization, adding that now things are turning around.
“I’ve fought my way through this. I initially closed on this property in 2006 and we’re still standing,” Seymour said. “I think it’s huge that we’ve pulled this through in a massive recession.”
His reference was to the closing for the Sam’s Club and the commitment of the Neighborhood Cinemas Group theaters, both scheduled to open in late 2010. Those two anchors, said Seymour, are the beginning of what is to come.
“Retailers tend to operate with a herd effect. Kohl’s has expressed an interest in the site and we have the zoning to handle them,” Seymour said, noting the attempt about a mile to the east to bring some of the same businesses to Peachtree City.
Announced earlier in December were plans for the late 2010 opening of NCG Cinemas on the northeast section of the retail development. The theater will bring 10 to 12 screens with a total of 2,038 seats to Fischer Crossings. Totaling 40,000 square feet, each of the theaters will be outfitted with 100 percent digital projectors and digital sound and will come with stadium seating that includes high-back rockers, said NCG Vice President Jeff Geiger.
Also announced last month was the late 2010 opening of a 138,000 square-foot Sam’s Club on the northwest corner of Fischer Crossings development.
