Bed Bath |amp| Beyond on its way to Primrose

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National housewares and accessories chain Bed Bath & Beyond will enter the Spring-field market by the end of the year, according to company spokesperson Amy Susskind.|ret||ret||tab|

The store will occupy about 30,000 square feet of the former Builder's Square building at 3308 S. Glenstone Ave. in the Primrose Marketplace.|ret||ret||tab|

"We will be coming sometime toward the end of the year," Susskind said.|ret||ret||tab|

She said the activity is in conjunction with the Union, N.J.-based company's yearly growth plans. It projects to open 80 to 85 stores this year.|ret||ret||tab|

"We do have projected growth every year and we're always looking for new places to go," she said. "As a company, we always look forward to serving new and existing customers in different areas."|ret||ret||tab|

The stores carry a broad assortment of merchandise for the home in different price ran-ges and styles. The "Beyond," Susskind said, includes cookware, dinnerware and tabletop items.|ret||ret||tab|

"Anything needed for the home outside of large furniture and large appliances we carry it," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

Susskind did not know when renovations to the site would begin or how much it would cost. However, a building permit filed with the city showed $1.1 million tenant improvements to the existing building.|ret||ret||tab|

She did say that the company has shared space before similar to what will occur in the 80,160-square-foot vacant space.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're in a variety of different venues, from free-standing stores to shopping centers," Susskind said.|ret||ret||tab|

The closest store to Spring-field is in Fayetteville, Ark. There also are several stores in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas.|ret||ret||tab|

The company has 405 stores in 44 states and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol BBBY.|ret||ret||tab|

Ohio-based Kimco Realty Corporation owns the shopping center, but leasing agent Daniel Gibson declined to comment on the activity because, he said, Kimco has not closed on the purchase of the Builder's Square property yet. He did say that he is looking at one or two other tenants to fill the remaining space.|ret||ret||tab|

According to Kimco's Web site, there are nearly 50,000 households within a five-mile radius of Primrose Marketplace with an average household income of more than $58,000. The average income rises to nearly $70,000 when considering homes within a one-mile radius of the center. Total population in the five-mile range is almost 120,000 people. [[In-content Ad]]