A decade-long plan to expand the existing Crossroads shopping center will finally come to fruition, bringing a craft store, sporting goods store and possibly a fast-food restaurant or small shop to Meridian, according to the developer. 

Wesley Walls, a developer with North Carolina-based Collett Capital, secured tax breaks from Lauderdale County this month after receiving approval for tax breaks from the Meridian City Council earlier this year.

Walls said the final hurdle would be securing the lease for the Sixteenth Section land from the Lauderdale County School District.

“For a number of reasons this project has had a tough time getting off the ground,” Walls said, acknowledging the delay. 

The Crossroads shopping plaza opened to great fanfare in November of 2007, bringing stores such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Petco. Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A and others soon built freestanding stores as well. 

Phase II of the project hit a roadblock in 2008 during the recession, however, halting progress, according to previous reporting. 

After a false start in 2015 with RCG Ventures ended sometime in 2016, Collett Capital replaced the developer in March of 2017.

Walls said that, in order to get the project moving, the plan focused on securing tenants and then building the space rather than building stores and hoping tenants would come. 

After securing a deal with the school district, Walls said they would break ground in January for a 55,000 to 60,000 square-foot facility for Hobby Lobby as part of the first phase of Crossroads II.

Following that, another 60,000 to 70,000 square-foot facility will be added for a sporting goods store, which hasn’t yet been named by Walls. 

The final store in Phase II will be a smaller store, perhaps a fast-food store, Walls said, bringing the total Phase II construction to 135,000 square feet. 

“That’s the maximum we feel we can accomplish on the site with the current restraints,” Walls said. “We might be able to start (the sporting goods store) before (Hobby Lobby) is complete… If other tenants become interested once they see us start I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Walls said that with construction beginning in January, he anticipated a fall opening for Hobby Lobby.

“That’ll give this project some movement,” Walls said. 

Some area shoppers still had doubts, posting comments on Facebook about previous Crossroads’ stories but some shoppers remained hopeful.

“I’m thrilled for Hobby Lobby to come. I shop there,” Linda Kyle, of Enterprise, said. “It’s been years since they brought that up.”

Kyle said she preferred open spaces as well because that’s how she grew up shopping. Meridian’s shopping doesn’t have it all though, Kyle said, noting that the young women in her family went to Hattiesburg to buy makeup.

“Anything that would bring more shopping here would be great,” Kyle said.

Meridian native Cooper Pope, 19, agreed with Kyle about wanting to the see the project completed.

“I think we’re all excited,” Pope said. “But I hope we get to see it go faster.”

As for future stores Pope said she’d like to see in Meridian, she said she’d like to see a Target because “everyone likes Target.”

“I prefer shopping in something like Crossroads,” Pope said, versus shopping a mall. “Because the Renaissance in Jackson is like that where you can go where you want to go and it’s outside.”

Walls assured naysayers that the project will go forward, adding that plans had been approved, leased signed and financing secured.

“I’m sure the good people of Meridian are tired of hearing about this project,” Walls said. “But we feel very confident in our plan.”