Epps Bridge Centre Has Received Building Permits From Oconee County For More Than 60 Percent Of Total Space

Oconee County has now issued at least some form of building permit for nearly two-thirds of the total commercial space in Epps Bridge Centre, the new shopping mall at the Oconee Connector and SR Loop 10.

Most of those permits are for the core of the shopping center, which preliminary site plans indicated would make up more than 80 percent of the total mall space.

Based on county water and sewer records, about 90 percent of the permitted retail space is leased.

The new mall already has put pressure on existing retail space in the area, with four tenants closing stores on the Atlanta Highway to move to the new mall. A fifth tenant has a store on Atlanta Highway and is likely to close it when it opens its new store in the Oconee County mall.

Developer Frank Bishop has built only about three-quarters of the retail space in the core’s center, so that pressure on the existing retail market is likely to continue.

For more on this story, including some history of the development of the mall, go to Oconee County Observations.