Parents of soccer players and sports enthusiasts rejoice as Big 5 Sporting Goods has finalized a deal to open a store in Covington.
Big 5 will be located next to Big Lots! in the former home of QFC, which closed its doors in December 2009, taking up about 10,000 square feet of space in Covington Square Shopping Center on the corner of Wax Road Southeast and Southeast 272nd Street.
Jim Wene, vice president of real estate for Renton-based developer Ashton Capital, said by phone on Wednesday that the deal had been finalized and he could officially confirm Big 5 coming to Covington.
Work has already begun on tenant improvements to the site, Wene noted.
“They’ll be in, I’d say 90 to 120 days,” Wene said. “They will go pretty quick. They should be operational by November of December.”
Wene explained that Big 5 was looking to expand east of Kent, where its nearest store is located, and “get out toward the families in Covington and Maple Valley.”
The sporting goods retailer and the developer seemed to hit the right timing, Wene added, and it seems like this will be a good fit both for the commercial plaza and for the city.
“It will be good,” Wene said. “It will give you a few more choices. It will be a great store. They’re excited about getting out there.”
With Big Lots, Wene told the Reporter in April, and Big 5 going in, there is only one small pad that is not occupied which makes Covington Square Shopping Center 98 percent leased out.
When the QFC closed, more than 100 jobs were eliminated from Covington’s economy, so with two new stores opening in its place a fair number of those jobs will be replaced.
“That’s a positive thing,” Wene said. “That’s cool.”
Covington City Manager Derek Matheson is also pleased with the city’s newest businesses.
“We’re thrilled to have two new anchor tenants in the QFC complex where downtown Covington was born,” Matheson wrote in an email. “Things are picking up in our community – two new medical facilities, a new auto dealership, and several new businesses like Big Lots and Big 5. We can maintain and even build on the momentum if each of us makes a conscious effort to shop locally and keep our dollars close to home.”
