350KSF Phase I of Fremaux Town Center Opens in Slidell

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Phase I of Fremaux Town Center, the much-awaited retail development in Slidell, has celebrated its grand opening. Developed by Stirling Properties in a 35/65 joint venture partnership with CBL & Associates Properties Inc., Fremaux Town Center is a two-phase development set to feature 670,000 square feet of retail when completed. As previously reported , the project is located on the site of Summit Fremaux, a 400-acre retail-office-residential mixed-use project that was proposed in 2008 but never started development.

Phase I features 350,000 square feet of retail across 80 acres off I-10. Anchored by Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, T.J. Maxx and Michaels, it features local, regional and national retailers. Others include Panera Bread, PetSmart and Rack Room Shoes. While some tenants will be opening new, first-time locations at Freamux, such as Dick’s, others will be relocating existing locations. For instance, Best Buy will relocate from North Shore Square Mall, off I-12, according to The New Orleans Advocate. North Shore Square Mall has been losing a steady stream of tenants to the new development and is expected to lose more as Fremaux goes fully operational.

While some tenants, such as Kohl’s and Dicks, opened pre-inauguration, others will open after the grand opening. Starbucks and Sport Clip, for instance, will open in the summer, while the 41,000-square-foot LA Fitness will open its first Louisiana location in the fourth quarter.

Phase II of Fremaux will add another 320,000 square feet of retail space when it opens in spring 2015. The Dillard’s-anchored development is set to break ground in the near future, and will contain mostly fashion-oriented retail space. Freamux’s trade area population exceeds 310,000.

According to The New Orleans Advocate, Stirling Properties is considering further development at Fremaux that would add office space, medical offices, town homes and high-end apartments.

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Images via Stirling Properties