Last night the City Council and Bristol Industrial Development Board met to approve a development agreement for the Bristol Border Region Retail Tourism Development District.
The day marked the culmination of 19 months of concentrated work by many to position the city for a major retail project on Interstate 81 at Exit 74 that will be anchored by Bass Pro Shops - the 5th Bass Pro to open in Tennessee and the first anchor tenant for the project.
The day also marked the start of the next chapter of work - the construction phase including public improvements followed by vertical improvements (i.e., stores). This phase will be completed by April 2014 when the initial public improvements are completed to usher in the opening of Bass Pro; to be followed by the first opening of other retail stores in the Spring of 2015.
This project was identified as key objective in the strategic economic development plan that was adopted one year ago this month. So it's fair to say where off to a good start.
