By Laura Keeter

Daily Times Staff Writer

Another big name is adding to the oomph of Heritage Crossing, a developing mega shopping center at the corner of Raleigh Road Parkway and Airport Boulevard.

Bed Bath & amp; Beyond will open this year, said Ed Etheridge, one of the center's developers.

The retailer is known for offering a store full of bedding, bathroom decor, window treatments, kitchenware, appliances, organization and storage items and home decor.

Bed Bath & amp; Beyond will add another component to the mix of stores being pieced together for Heritage Crossing, Etheridge said.

"I definitely think it will be a draw -- something we've never had in Wilson before. It's a new type retailer for the Wilson market," Etheridge said. "It's a great national tenant. We're glad to get them to Wilson."

Heritage Crossing now boasts Target, Belk, Marshalls, Ross Dress For Less, as well as smaller retailers and a future Harris Teeter.

Construction will begin soon on the new home for Bed Bath & amp; Beyond, which will be in a row of four stores -- three mid-size big box stores and one smaller store.

The strip of stores will be at the corner of the intersection, the building running parallel with Airport Boulevard.

The parking lot is already in and the site is ready for construction, Etheridge said.

"Once it gets started, it will move pretty fast," he said.

Original shopping center plans show PetSmart as a tenant for another mid-sized space in that strip.

Bed Bath & amp; Beyond is now advertising to hire employees in its "soon-to-open Wilson, N.C. location," as stated in an ad placed in the newspaper's Saturday classifieds.

The company's more than 815 stores range in size from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet, with some stores exceeding 80,000 square feet, according to the company Web site.

The store in Wilson will be of mid-range, Etheridge said.

keeter@wilsontimes.com | 265-7817