JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – In a unanimous decision, Johnson City commissioners have given the green light to the Promenade Development Agreement, which will bring a new shopping center to the intersection of Boones Creek Road and Christian Church Road.

The project will feature a Publix supermarket as its anchor tenant, alongside several outparcels designated for future business ventures.

According to the agreement, the city is tasked with expanding both Christian Church and Boones Creek roads, securing an entrance permit from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and implementing traffic management measures as construction kicks off. To finance the road expansions, the city plans to issue $3 million in bonds.

The development company, Horne Properties, will share some of the financial responsibilities, which will help ease the fiscal impact on local taxpayers.

Representing Horne Properties, John Baker informed the city commission that the upcoming Boones Creek Publix will surpass the size of the existing Johnson City location.

“This is their biggest prototype,” Baker told commissioners. “Initially, when we started the process, it was smaller, but they felt they needed the bigger one because of the need to service a lot of area. They felt like it would perform very well at this location.”

Boones Creek has long piqued developers’ interest as a potential growth area.

“Boones Creek is an area that appears to be growing, but it was designated in 2019 as an extraordinary retail and entertainment district,” said Johnson City city manager Cathy Ball. “It hasn’t been certified yet, but it has been designated as an area for growth through the state process.”

Ball said that when Horne Properties approached the city with the idea for the development, it aligned with projects the city was looking to complete.

“Prior to the developer coming to the city, the city had been working on the widening of Christian Church Road and the widening of Boones Creek Road in that area,” she said. “When the developer came in and said, we’re looking at a project in this area, we were already looking at this widening. It was an opportunity for us to partner them to pay for some of the amenities we were already, including in our project, so it was just the ability to partner together to make it work for both parties.”

The city has not yet determined the tax implications of the development, nor does the development qualify for the 30-year tax incentive for retail and entertainment under Senate Bill 1434.

Ball said the next steps for the project are annexation and acquiring permits.

“[Developers and planners] will come at the next meeting of the commission for annexation of the property,” she said. “Not all of the promenade is not within the city limits, so they will be coming forward with the the final zoning of the property and for the annexation of the property.”

The project is expected to break ground in mid-March of 2026. Completion is projected for May of 2027.