LAURINBURG — By the end of the year, the intersection of West Boulevard and U.S. 401 is expected to be home to a fast casual restaurant, a new urgent care center, and four other potential retail stores.

Tricor Development, which owns and manages both retail buildings currently adjacent to Walmart, is adding a third on a 2.97-acre outparcel next to the Murphy Oil gasoline station.

According to Jeff Rose, Tricor’s director of development, construction of the new shell building will be complete in mid-September and will have room to house five businesses.

“We’ve been trying to do that building since 2011,” Rose said. “We really were just waiting for a tenant … we weren’t going to build it completely spec.”

Tricor has executed a lease with FastMed Urgent Care to take up residence in the new building, and is currently in discussion with several other prospects. The location of the center, which is bordered by U.S. 401, West Boulevard, and U.S. 74, make it a prime location for growth.

“That’s one of, if not the busiest intersections in Scotland County,” said Rose. “Especially with the summertime traffic that goes by there between Charlotte and Wilmington, it’s a great location.”

The outparcel between the new retail space and West Boulevard has been purchased from Tricor by MFAC, LLC. According to operating partner Ben Fields, crews will break ground this week for construction of a Zaxby’s — a chicken restaurant with a menu ranging from salads to sandwiches and wings.

MFAC began advertising for restaurant managers in March, but construction has been delayed by the process of acquiring the 1.97-acre parcel from Tricor.

“Zaxby’s is having a growth spurt in North Carolina and we wanted to make sure we got in there before the county was bought out by another licensee,” said Fields.

When it opens, Zaxby’s will employ about 90 people, with managers earning salaries of up to $30,000 plus benefits. The restaurant expects to begin hiring crew members, which are minimum wage positions, in November.

If construction proceeds on schedule, Zaxby’s could open as early as December.

Mary Katherine Murphy can be reached at 910-506-3169.

Surveyors inspect a site next to an under-construction strip mall at U.S. 401 and West Boulevard, where crews will break ground this week on construction of a Zaxby’s.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_IMG_4613.jpgSurveyors inspect a site next to an under-construction strip mall at U.S. 401 and West Boulevard, where crews will break ground this week on construction of a Zaxby’s. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

Surveyors inspect a site next to an under-construction strip mall at U.S. 401 and West Boulevard, where crews will break ground this week on construction of a Zaxby’s.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_IMG_4613print.jpgSurveyors inspect a site next to an under-construction strip mall at U.S. 401 and West Boulevard, where crews will break ground this week on construction of a Zaxby’s. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange
Intersection to see strip mall, Zaxby’s

By Mary Katherine Murphy

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