By Laura Keeter Daily Times Staff Writer Marshalls will launch the anticipated shopping bonanza at Heritage Crossing. The clothing and home goods retailer plans to open Sept. 14 -- almost a month before Target opens Oct. 8 and Belk opens Oct. 11. To be ready to open then, the store plans to start interviewing Monday for new hires. Marshalls is part of TJX Companies, which owns eight chains of discount stores including T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Winners, HomeSense, T.K. Maxx, A.J. Wright, and Bob's Stores as well as Marshalls. Heritage Crossing, at the intersection of Raleigh Road Parkway and Airport Boulevard, will also feature the big box retailers Best Buy and PetsMart. The opening dates for those stores hasn't been determined yet, said Ed Etheridge of Etheridge Associates, one of the shopping center developers. Construction on the two stores has begun as far as infrastructure work, building pads, and parking lot construction. "It's just, -- stay tuned," Etheridge said. "It's always been planned to be done in phases." At the shopping center, some smaller shop space for smaller retailers will open first, although Etheridge said he wasn't ready to announce the tenants or dates yet. "They should be coming along pretty soon," he said. "The buildings are up." Marshalls will be located between Target and Belk at the new shopping center at the corner of Raleigh Road Parkway and Airport Boulevard. Shopping center developers are Heritage Place of Wilson LLC, which includes attorney Allen Thomas, attorney David Woodard, Etheridge and Adkins heirs, who inherited the roughly 600-acre property. The local corporation is in partnership on the shopping center with two Charlotte firms, Core Properties and Collett & amp; Associates. When completed, the $30 million shopping center will cover about 92 acres of former farmland. To help secure the project, city and county officials established $2.5 million in retail incentives as reimbursement for infrastructure costs. The incentive money would come from the increase in tax revenues paid by the property owners from the property's increase in tax valuation. The 30,000-square-foot Marshalls store will stock bargain fashions for the entire family, said Amy Cafazzo, Marshalls spokeswoman. The store will feature women's fashion, juniors, children's, men's, accessories, shoes for the whole family, home accents (everything from picture frames and lamps to smaller furniture pieces), bedding and bath items, high-end kitchen ware, and gourmet foods. The Wilson Marshalls will have an expanded "mega shoe department," meaning it will have even more shoes than the standard Marshalls, she said. Marshalls has 700 stores in 42 states and Puerto Rico. Marshalls is similar to T.J. Maxx, which has a store in Rocky Mount. However, T.J. Maxx leans more toward women shoppers and women's clothes, and Marshalls is more family-orientated and carries more men's and children's, Cafazzo said. "We're a family retailer." The store will employ 75 full- and part-time employees. Hiring begins Monday at the Hampton Inn & amp; Suites at 5606 Lamm Road from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and will go on for three weeks. keeter@wilsondaily.com | 265-7817
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