There has been a lot of movement as of late within the Emporia Pavilions development in western Emporia and it appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.
According to Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking, three more nationally known names may be coming to the pavillions over the course of this year.
Cocking says he cannot say any names at this time, however, he believes they will be great additions to the already impressive selection of retailers located in the Pavillions. Cocking adds he is hopeful the first restaurants to be included in the Pavillions may be announced later this year as well.
Cocking says the recent opening of Marshall’s, Ross Dress for Less and Shoe Department at the Pavillions as well as the recent addition of Dunham’s at Flinthills Mall are great examples of the resurgence of traditional retail shopping. Cocking says while online shopping may be convenient, traditional in-store sales bring more benefits to the Emporia community.
Cocking credits traffic from Interstate 35 and the Kansas Turnpike as the main factor that continues to attract large-name national retailers to the community. He says Emporia has a healthy mix of both national and local retailers available which he believes is important to attracting a large and varied amount of shoppers and travelers to the community.
The new additions will be the third phase of the Pavilions development. Phase one began back in 2017 when Hobby Lobby opened its doors to the public while phase two saw the opening of Ross Dress for Less this past October, Shoe Dept Encore in November and Marshall’s late last month.
The Marshall’s opening was delayed due to supply chain issues.
