With all of the growth in the community, I am often asked about more retail options. We have seen thousands of houses and apartments built in the last few years and added millions of square feet of industrial space. However, I understand the interest of everyone in seeing new and additional retail options in our community.
Good news! More retail is on the way. In fact, I have been saying for some time that 2024 will be the Year of Retail in the Ocala Metro. It may not necessarily make as big a splash but when one looks back on the year, I think they will be surprised to realize how many additional retailers have opened. I would like to share about three new businesses opening soon: a retailer, a service, and a restaurant.
By mid-Oct ober lululemon will have opened their doors in Paddock Mall. The well known national athletic brand with more than 700 locations worldwide is best known for their yoga pants. The Ocala location will be the first in Florida between Jacksonville and Orlando. The store is opening in the JC Penny wing at the Paddock Mall which has a great story in itself. At a time when many have been proclaiming the death of the mall, the Paddock Mall is boasting near 100% occupancy with record visitors and sales per sq foot. The Mall is continuing to welcome new national retailers with more on the way.
Purchase your new yoga gear from lululemon and then head over to Churchill Square where a new Club Pilates will soon open. This fitness studio chain with more than 1,000 global locations offers low-impact, full body Reformer Pilates-based workouts. The Club Pilates Ocala location will fill the space once occupied by Adobe East.
Lastly, once you have completed your Club Pilates workout you can visit the new Culvers which will soon begin construction on W. Silver Springs Blvd and I-75. This Wisconsin-based fast-food franchise famous for their frozen custard will open their 2nd location in Ocala in the middle of next year. One should never skip the frozen custard, but their butter burgers are pretty good too. Or so I hear.
This is just a sampling of the new retailers opening in our community. Restaurant Depot, Elliano’s, Chipotle, Sprouts, Tropical Smoothie Café, Pandora, The Great Greek, and many more have all announced new Ocala locations. Growth creates opportunities and these opportunities include more shopping and dining options.
