HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Huntsville entrepreneur Olga Scroggins said Tuesday the next two to three months are going to be "one big nightmare" as she spends between $15,000 and $20,000 relocating her small business to Bob Wallace Avenue.





Scroggins, owner of European Market in the Mason Plaza shopping center south of downtown Huntsville, said she was told by Bragg Development Properties of Huntsville this month that she has until Dec. 1 to move out of the space she's operated in for seven years.

European Market, 3023 South Memorial Parkway, is one of several small businesses being forced to move to make room for Walmart, which has applied for a building permit to turn the shopping plaza into a 24-hour Supercenter.

Huntsville Director of Inspections Randy Cunningham said on Monday a review by the city has been performed and comments have been sent back to the architect. He said the city of Huntsville is awaiting responses so a permit can be issued.

Although Mason Plaza knew for more than a year that Walmart was eyeing the shopping center, Scroggins said she and other tenants were told they would have between six and 18 months to move if Walmart went through with the purchase. Instead, Scroggins said she was told by Bragg Development on Aug. 1 that she and other businesses would have only four months to find a new location.

Scroggins is working with City Councilman Bill Kling to expedite the permitting process so she can relocate her store by early October to a suite at 2745 Bob Wallace Avenue, which will need extensive renovations.

"We hope the city will guide us through what permits we need so they don't get held up and stuck on somebody's desk," said Scroggins, who will close her store for two weeks to move. "Christmas is the biggest season for us. If I try to move by Dec. 1, we're definitely going to see a loss of sales and a loss of revenue."

Attempts to reach Bragg Development and Walmart on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Kling said Tuesday he is doing everything he can to help business owners like Scroggins relocate to a new location before the cut-off date.

"It's a dangerous weapon when a city councilman has a bachelor's degree in planning," he said. "It is not a good fit because you're basically putting a large Walmart Supercenter in a small footprint of land. The land they're going to be using for the property is very small compared to other Walmart Supercenters around the city."

The new Walmart Supercenter at Mason Plaza would replace the aging Drake Avenue store, which is owned by Ralest Realty of Arkansas and has an appraised value of almost $4.6 million. Huntsville's Mason Plaza is home to several retailers, including Ethan Allen furniture store, Osborne's Jewelers, Neo Mode Hair Salon, Caravan Imports Oriental Rugs and more.

Lauren Knox, co-owner of Neo Mode Hair Salon, said she is one of only two tenants that have leases at Mason Plaza.

During the past year and a half, Knox said she and business partner Angie Helms worked with Bragg Development to determine how much time Neo Mode would need to move if Walmart were to purchase the property.

She said Neo Mode was allotted six months to move to a new location and officials with Bragg Development have done what they can to help her business relocate.

"The (developer) didn't have quite the same obligation to the other businesses as we had, since they didn't have leases," she said. "We had a little bit more notice, a little bit more time to process it. We're also the two largest lessees on the property."

Neo Mode Hair Salon, which opened at Mason Plaza almost 25 years ago, will move in late September to the Piedmont Point Shopping Center at 4851 Whitesburg Drive near Publix. Knox said the new location will be a 3,200-square-foot space that currently houses Salon Beaujolie.

"Obviously, a Walmart is not going to be your first hope when you look at any kind of development for the Parkway," she said. "I don't begrudge them for developing the property, but I do understand where the nearby residents are coming from. Everybody had hoped for something a little different."

KB Dancewear, a Mason Plaza tenant for 11 ½ years, is planning to move by Oct. 5 to Park Center off Bob Wallace Avenue next to an office equipment store. Owner Kristi Norris said renovations will be minimal but she's "excited about a new beginning."

"It's frustrating, because nobody wants to move, but hopefully it will be even better for us," she said. "Our market is very specialized. People do seek us out, so we don't have to rely so much on passersby."

Jennifer Whitener, owner of J Whitener Boutique, said she has no ill feelings toward Bragg Development Properties about their decision to sell to Walmart, but admits she is let down that she and other retailers weren't given more time to move.

J Whitener Boutique, a fixture of Mason Plaza for a decade, will move to a smaller space by late October in the same shopping center as Starbucks, Brix and Pelican Joe's on Airport Road. Whitener also plans to open a new location next spring on U.S. 72 West in Madison.

"There are no hard feelings for me as far as the development being sold, but I certainly was disappointed at the time frame they set up for us," she said. "But I believe when the Lord closes one door, he opens another. I'm trying to look at it as positively as I can, but it will be emotionally sad leaving the girls (at Neo Mode Hair Salon) next door."