The owners of the Covington Mall told the Andalusia City Council Friday that they’ve landed a national retailer that will draw others to the area, and they expect the facility to be full soon.
Shaun Jackson, who owns the facility with his brother Michael Jackson, said the two received word this week from a national retailer that the company’s board has agreed to an Andalusia location.
“We should have a contract within the next couple of weeks,” he said.
The Jacksons have already raised the roof of the space adjacent to current tenant based on a Letter of Intent they had received from the national retailer. Other retailers will follow this one, he said, adding that they have Letters of Intent from two additional retailers.
“We anticipate that we’ll have it full quickly,” he said.
Jackson thanked city officials for their help recruiting retailers.
“Y’all have done an absolutely fantastic job helping us with this,” Jackson said. “We think this will become a destination on the way to the beach. We’ve already said we expect a Starbucks to pop up.”
The council approved a resolution authorizing in kind assistance in installing a draining system and lighting at the mall as the Jacksons prepare for the new tenants. The first tenant hopes to be open by August 1, they said.
The council also authorized a rebate on half of the sales taxes generated by two new national tenants for the first five years. The city is providing a prepayment of $600,000 of those taxes to Covington Mall, LLC, for further renovations to the facility and the parking lot. City Clerk John Thompson explained that the Jacksons will have a $3 million investment in the property and improvements when they welcome the new tenant this summer.
Council members also had high praise for the Jacksons’ work and investment.
“It’s exciting to be working with Andalusians on this project,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “This could be happening with an out-of-town developer, but y’all care more about the community, It’s really exciting to see young people stepping up.”