Rural King purchases former K-Mart

Published 9:24 am Wednesday, July 27, 2022

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The Retail Companies have sold the former K-Mart property in Bainbridge, Ga., to Rural King. Rural King Supply, a farm supply store based in Mattoon, Illinois, with over 130 locations around the country has purchased the former 86,479 square foot K-Mart and will anchor the north end of the Bainbridge Town Center grocery-anchored shopping center.

“Rural King is a $1 Billion dollar company with over 6,400 employees across the country, and we are thrilled to broker a deal bringing them to Bainbridge Town Center,” said Brooks Corr, a principal at The Retail Companies. “Not only is this a huge victory for Bainbridge, but a retailer of this magnitude attracts customers not only from just Bainbridge, but from around region, and we are excited to see how this improves the retail lineup within the property over the upcoming years.”

City Manager Chris Hobby is equally excited. He said the city has been working closely with Rural King for a little over a year and a half, trying to interest them in coming to the Bainbridge community.

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Part of Rural King’s interest stemmed from the City Council designating the corridor on Shotwell Street as an Enterprise Zone.

“It’s absolutely what drew them,” Hobby said. “We were able to negotiate a package with them that allows them to take advantage of those tax breaks allotted in the Enterprise Zone designation.”

The property is currently anchored by Food Giant, Dollar Tree, and Hibbett Sports. The Rural King will anchor the northern end of the center. The Retail Companies is continuing to market the remaining small shop retail spaces for lease and an outparcel that is available fronting Shotwell Street.

This will be the first Rural King in the state of Georgia, as the retail giant looks to continue expanding across the Southeast.

“We are excited they’ve chosen Bainbridge as their first Georgia location,” Hobby lauded.

Hobby did share that the store opening will not be any time soon, as the company has some work they would like to complete prior to opening.

Hobby said approximate dates for opening are late 2023 to early 2024.

The Retail Companies are also involved in other projects around the region including leasing the Bainbridge Mall across Shotwell Street in Bainbridge, Ga. as well as the Tifton Mall in Tifton, Ga. and other projects in Dothan, Alabama and the surrounding areas.