Enjoying Open-Air Retail Space in Macon, Georgia
The Shoppes at River Crossing will be the first open-air, lifestyle center in the Macon area.
Jaime Lackey

A rendering of The Shoppes at River Crossing, a new lifestyle center coming soon to Macon, Georgia. At 750,000 square feet, it will be the town’s largest retail development in 30 years. Developing the project are Jim Wilson & Associates and General Growth Properties.

Jim Wilson & Associates is partnering with General Growth Properties to develop The Shoppes at River Crossing, a 750,000-square-foot retail center in Macon, Georgia. This is the first open-air, lifestyle center in the area, and it is the largest retail development in Macon in 3 decades.

“Thirty years ago, my dad [Jim Wilson, Jr.], built the Macon Mall for Colonial Properties,” says Will Wilson, president of Montgomery, Alabama-based Jim Wilson & Associates (JWA). “The town has grown big enough to handle another center.”

There have been some power centers developed in the Macon area in the last 30 years, Wilson notes, but this is the first retail development of this size since the Macon Mall.

The Shoppes at River Crossing will be located on 83 acres at Interstate 75 and Riverside Drive. The center is also easily accessible from Interstate 475 and Interstate 16.

Even though the interstate access may attract people who happen to be driving through the state, the local population is the targeted customer.

“Macon-area residents will find The Shoppes at River Crossing to be a delightful place to shop, dine and be entertained,” says Jim Graham, director of public affairs for Chicago-based General Growth Properties. “It will be an open-air center and we find that our customers enjoy the bustle and vibrancy of that kind of setting.”

“The 3- to 10-mile radius is our bread-and-butter,” Wilson says, but he expects a 30-mile draw. He anticipates some traffic from Warner Robins, Georgia, (home to Warner Robins Air Force Base) and from the outer, southern suburbs of Atlanta, where people may find the drive to Macon more convenient than the drive to Atlanta. (Macon is 83 miles south of Atlanta.)

Aerial view of the site for The Shoppes at River Crossing in Macon, Georgia.

The demographics for the area around The Shoppes at River Crossing are impressive. More than 390,000 people live within the 30-mile radius. The average household income in 2005 was $55,282. Within a 5-mile radius, the average household income in 2005 was $86,719 and that is projected to increase to $95,877 by 2010.

JWA has taken the lead with the development and construction management for the $100 million project. General Growth will take over management of the center once it opens in March 2008. Both companies are handling the leasing efforts.

Approximately 85 percent of the space is spoken for, and Wilson says the leasing agents have documents out for signatures on approximately 60 percent of the space.

Anchors Dillard’s and Belk are building their own stores — 200,000 square feet and 132,000 square feet, respectively. Big box tenants will include well known electronic, sporting goods and shoe retailers. Additional tenants will include women’s, men’s and children’s specialty stores. Bonefish Grill has signed on to open its first store in the Macon market. The center will also feature at least two other sit-down restaurants and several fast-casual restaurants.

JWA and General Growth are seeking to sign another signature restaurant, according to Wilson, and they are pursuing more ladies’ fashion. “We have great stores signed, but we’re also trying to bring in more retailers new to the Macon area,” he says.

The center is designed as a Main Street-type project, so that customers can park right in front of the stores. Wide sidewalks and attractive lighting will add to the streetscape feel. “There will be a lot of landscaping, with bronze sculptures throughout. We will have a large green area as well as a play area for kids,” Wilson says.

While some Macon-area retailers may see a little dip in sales when The Shoppes at River Crossing first opens, JWA expects the center to increase the overall retail activity in the area.

“We don’t think [this center] will hurt any of the existing retailers,” Wilson says.

Graham adds, “We think The Shoppes at River Crossing will be the most popular shopping destination in the region, and it will also make important contributions to the local economy, including both jobs and revenue.”

JWA and General Growth are also considering an option to purchase land adjacent to The Shoppes at River Crossing to build a 250,000-square-foot power center. JWA has had success pairing a lifestyle center with a power center in Montgomery. Between 2002 and 2004, JWA constructed The Shoppes at EastChase, a lifestyle center, and The Plaza at EastChase, a power center, in Montgomery. (Now, Centro owns both centers.) JWA is currently constructing a second power center in the 330-acre development. The company is also constructing Carriage Crossing MarketPlace, a power center to complement The Avenue Carriage Crossing, a lifestyle center it developed with Cousins Properties in Collierville, Tennessee.

“You need a lot of land to do this, but the synergies create convenience for the customer,” Wilson says. “They can visit Anne Taylor then Target or Kohl’s without spending all day driving around.”

In general, Graham says, “We think that open-air shopping environments will have a lasting appeal, just as enclosed environments still attract visitors decades after some of them were built.  Whether open or enclosed, the key is a good mix of retailers, great public spaces, quality architecture and design, and a great community of visitors who make our properties come alive.”

Wilson agrees. He says that people love to shop open-air centers and retailers are accepting of them. JWA has had success with the lifestyle projects it has opened in the last few years. However, his company’s plans include trying to incorporate both open-air and enclosed mall components at future projects where the sites will allow both. Wilson explains, “Business changes every day. We want to be on the cutting edge — to see what works in different regions, to see what the customers like and what the tenants like.”


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