Bass Pro Shops is in negotiations with a New Orleans developer to bring a store to the city at the site of a former power plant, according to a
Times-Picayune newspaper report.
Market Street Properties LLC, owner of a 109-year-old Market Street power plant property, is moving forward with plans for a retail development at the site, with hopes to include Bass Pro as its anchor tenant.
Bass Pro has not signed a lease for the property, but officials have been to the site to evaluate the possibility, according to the report, which cites U.S. bankruptcy court filings that name Bass Pro as a possible anchor.
Officials with Market Street Properties LLC said that if Bass Pro accepts the proposed deal, it is expected the etailer would occupy the 500,000-square-foot power plant building by February 2013.
Larry Whiteley, Bass Pro manager of communications, neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of a New Orleans location.
"Since this is the department that announces any new locations and we have not been informed anything about a New Orleans store, as of right now it is just another rumor like many others going around the country," he said in an e-mail.
Bass Pro has two locations in Louisiana, one in Bossier City and one in Denham Springs, according to its
Web site.
In other Bass Pro development news, the retailer broke ground March 18 at its roughly 150,000-square-foot Harlingen, Texas location, which is expected to open to the public in November, according to a report from
KGBT-TV of Harlingen.
In an August
news release, Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris said "Harlingen is a terrific regional location for a store that will highlight the great heritage and outdoor traditions of the families and visitors to the area."
Bass Pro's development in Memphis, Tenn., at the vacant Pyramid location, is pending, following a study released by Memphis city officials that showed the threat of earthquakes and the cost associated with girding the building against them could be costly.
This month, it was determined it would cost approximately $5.2 million to stabilize the ground underneath The Pyramid, while officials wait to see what's needed to strengthen the location. The city of Memphis has committed to spend $63 million to see the Bass Pro deal through, but it is unclear at this time what could happen with the development, according to the
Commercial Appeal.
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