Warren County will use an estimated $250,000 Three-Star Grant to revitalize another section of the Three Star Mall.
Warren County Executive Terry Bell said the county plans to convert an estimated 4,500 square foot space within the mall into a community hub that will also sell coffee, cookies, and ice cream. Bell said the county hopes the space could make some money, but also attract people back to the mall.
“When we do a few changes to some of these spaces that I have figured for some odd reason we are not renting them, hopefully we will be able to fill those spaces, those rent spaces back up and really help build our mall back,” Bell said.
Bell said the county plans to hire senior citizens and individuals with special needs to staff the new space. Bell said he thinks the project will be a big win for the county.
“You know, it’s not gonna be any money out of the taxpayers’ hands, and we are gonna have the opportunity to try to help some people,” Bell said. “The special needs and some senior people who could use a little job, a little extra income, and then bring this community together. There will be wi-fi there, we will have a TV there, so that they can watch certain things that are going on in the community, maybe, and advertise a lot for our county.”
Bell said the space will also have a tourism shop that will sell items that showcase Warren County as a tourist attraction.
“Some of our Rock Island State Park, Cumberland Caverns, and some of the things in Warren County that a lot of people come to visit, we are gonna have those souvenirs in there, and some material in there,” Bell said. “If you come in on the weekend and you are hunting and wanting to know where to go and what to see in Warren County, we are gonna have some flyers to try and promote some stuff like that.”
Bell said the mall has had trouble attracting and keeping businesses. Bell said one of the big challenges the mall faces is that businesses have concerns about how products can be unloaded from delivery trucks into the mall.
“Everybody usually gets their products in on pallets and brings them in the back of their store and breaks them down and then brings them out front,” Bell said. “You actually have to do that outside at the mall. We are looking at trying to put some of those doors in, but as of right now, those are not there, which it takes an architectural engineer to do that. We’ll have to bid it out as a county government, and it will take us some time, but that’s some of the challenges I have run into trying to get other businesses to locate there.”
Bell said the renovation will consist of installing new flooring, lighting, ceiling, and a kitchen. Bell said the county has yet to receive a grant contract from the state, so he is unsure when the county will begin working on the project.