The group which plans to redevelop the Lakeshore Mall site in Gainesville says they are looking for the support of local businesses for the new project.
Branch Properties presented their plans for the redeveloped site in the monthly meeting of the Grande Chamber of Commerce of the Hall at Gainesville Civic Center on Thursday. The group obtained Approval of the Gainesville municipal council in early February For the intention to demolish most of the existing shopping center and reinvent space as a development for mixed open use.
Plans require retail spaces and restaurants as well as row houses and apartments. The only companies that have confirmed that they will remain on the site are the sports items of Belk and Dick.
The president of branch properties, Jesse Shannon, said that they hoped to see local companies in Northern Georgia help populate the space.
“I think that if you strictly market national and regional brands, you can lose the community. This does not really differentiate the project from anywhere that they could buy, apart from proximity,” said Shannon after Thursday’s meeting. “What we really want are companies that are established and succeed in Gainesville so that people know companies and will support companies and make the project familiar to the customer.”
Shannon said Branch Properties has launched a marketing campaign to try to attract local businesses to development.
“We were really not able to do it until we managed to zon, because we did not know how, in the end, it would take place,” said Shannon. “The vast majority of tenants we target will be local tenants.”
The president and chief executive officer of the Grand Hall Chamber of Commerce, Tim Evans, said that he was happy to hear branch properties contact the local business world to obtain support. He also said that he thought the site could present good opportunities for local businesses who were trying to grow.
“I think this is endemic to the redevelopment, and an excellent retail site for more than 55 years will have a new life,” said Evans. “The way we buy has changed. We are no longer going in interior shopping centers. We tend to want to park just outside where we want to go in terms of shopping.”
Evans also said that he thought that the redevelopment could also have a positive effect on the areas surrounding the lake.
“Each time you make a development of this scale and this size, it has an advantage for the uses of the neighboring property, so it will attract more people to come, not only to live, but to eat, enjoy the concerts and do things actively on the site that will spread in other neighboring areas,” said Evans.
Shannon said they had already participated in talks with some companies to come to Lakeshore. During Thursday’s meeting, he hinted at the members of the room that they were in “advanced discussions” with an anonymous biological grocery store to occupy a place near the Dick’s Relocated sports items.
“Our hope is in the next 30 days, we can make this announcement (about the grocery store),” said Shannon.
The demolition of the existing Lakeshore shopping center and subsequent construction on new development should start at the end of 2026.