A new $15 million restaurant and retail shopping center has broken ground across from West Town Mall.

The development has already secured two restaurants, Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, both new to the area.

West Town Crossings, at 7621 Kingston Pike, will open in spring 2020, according to John Shirley, principal of Knoxville-based JKS Retail Development, LLC. JKS is developing the center with Alabama-based Net Lease Alliance, LLC.

The project, funded by Net Lease Alliance, will introduce sit-down restaurants to an area Shirley said has lacked that kind of hospitality.

"That's the reason we're doing this development," he said.

The 24,455-square-foot center will sit on the east side of Leonard Rogers Street, with another development to be completed on the west side of the street.

The initial development will include anchor tenant Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Noire The Nail Bar and three additional retail spaces. Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar will be built in a standalone building.

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Firebirds Wood Fired Grill serves American fare with a focus on steaks and seafood. The North Carolina-based restaurant has locations across the country, including Brentwood, Memphis, Collierville and Chattanooga, according to its website.

Walk-On's is a regional chain that specializes in Cajun cuisine. It does not currently have any locations in Tennessee but has plans to open several restaurants across the state, including in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga, according to its website.

Phase two, the west side, is in the preliminary design stage.

Central to heavy traffic

West Town Crossings' east portion will occupy a space that previously held the Howard Johnson Hotel, originally a Ramada Inn from about 1970 to the mid-1980s.

The property had foreclosed, according to Shirley.

The development's west side replaces former restaurants Macaroni Grill and Cozumel.

Shirley embarked on the project in December 2016 and purchased the east parcel in January 2018.

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The shopping center has drawn interest from Turkey Creek retailers looking to expand to West Town, Shirley said, as well as out-of-market retailers and restaurants.

The development "is at the crossing point of the most heavily traveled part of West Knoxville and provides services to the local community," Shirley said.

Renovating Leonard Rogers Street

Before purchasing the site, Shirley worked with TDOT to add a roundabout on Leonard Rogers Street, opening up access to the two sides of the development.

Leonard Rogers Street used to function as the on- and off-ramp to the interstate in its early days in the 1950s and 1960s, Shirley said.

In 2000, the state revamped the interchange and transferred the ramps to Montvue Road, making it challenging to access the two sites.

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Construction of the roundabout is slated to start this month and be completed in August, Shirley said.

The street will close during construction of the roundabout, Shirley said, but neither that construction nor construction of the development will interfere with traffic in the area, including on Kingston Pike.