2008 Woodie Awards
City seeks to further business development
Mike Wilder
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News
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"We are working on a new plan with a marketing company and should have a big announcement around December 5," Brunner said.
Although Brunner did not wish to go into great detail about the announcement, he said the plan goes along with his and other city officials' desire to bring more retail business to the city.
Brunner also discussed the situation with the Main Street building currently being leased by Staples Inc. Massachusetts-based Staples is currently the world's largest retail office supply store chain.
"The building is currently owned by a family out of Chicago," Brunner said. "The family bought the building but they are leasing it to Staples. They are still receiving monthly rent from Staples. Unless someone else is willing to give Staples a better offer, there's nothing else that can be done about it."
Brunner said he hopes that renovation and store opening will begin as soon as possible.
Craig Pope, owner of the former KFC/A&W building, said he hopes that his newest tenants, Cousin's Subs, will be moved by the middle of second semester.
"The Cousins agreement is a done deal," Pope said. "We had hoped for the renovation to be finished by the time students came back in January for second semester."
The building has been vacant for nearly a year. The absence of tenants has left many students and city residents wondering about the future of the building.
"I plan on dividing the building, putting Cousins in one half, but I haven't quite made final decisions about the other half," Pope said.
Although the renovation was originally set for January of 2008, Pope said that the architectural plans have not yet been finalized. Therefore, the project has been pushed back a number of weeks.
"Right now we are working on designing and planning," Pope said. "I also have a major brand of coffee that wants to drop in as well."
Pope has not named the brand of coffee to share the building with Cousins Subs.
Pope said the two units of the building will undergo extensive exterior and interior remolding. He hopes to create a unique dining experience for Cousins' customers which does not exist due to the limited space of the location in the B.P. gas station.
"I wish Cousins would have moved to Main Street sooner," senior Andrea Gibson said. "Now we won't have to go out of the way to eat there."
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