Appliance store, gym headed to University City

University City Partners is reporting that an appliance and furniture store and a large gym are slated for a former Walmart store on JW Clay Boulevard.

The appliance and furniture store is Conn's, a smaller chain of stores with more than 80 locations from Arizona to South Carolina. Conn's would be 45,000 square feet, according to leasing information and a site plan posted online. The company has been trying to expand, including in the Carolinas. Conn's sells appliances, electronics and furniture, and offers in-house financing and rent-to-own plans.

The property is being leased by Tricor Partners, and you can view the listing online here. The other listed tenant is Titan Fitness, which operates several area gyms under the Fitness Connection name. The gym would take 60,000 square feet in the shopping center.

Here's what University City Partners wrote about the shopping center: "Florida-based Tricor International bought the 126,397 SF building and its 15.6-acre site at University Place in August 2013 for $5.4 million, tax records show. Tricor renamed the property the Shoppes at University Commons. Sales materials say that the building can be expanded by 26,583 square feet. “Additionally, +/- 15,000 SF of retail shop space is planned,” the marketing brochure says. The brochure notes that three spaces remain available to lease: 36,256 SF, 7,905 SF and 8,000 SF. All can be subdivided. Unless Tricor undertakes massive changes, the site should require no rezoning for new tenants. However, because the property is within University Place, the site is under review by the University Place Owners Association.