A new commercial development, Grand Central@Martin Farms, is coming to Simpsonville at the intersection of Fairview Road and Harrison Bridge Road, according to the Windsor Aughtry Company and city officials.
Publix Super Markets, working with JSI Development, is the first Grand Central@Martin Farms tenant to announce plans to locate there. The grocer will vacate its existing store on Fairview Road and become the development’s 54,000-square-foot anchor.
A junior anchor and outparcels will be announced at a later date.
Work on the development has begun. The Publix is anticipated to open in the fall of 2017.
The Martin Family Farm has a long and storied history in Simpsonville dating back to the late 1800s. In the early 1990s, J.R. (Bob) Martin recognized the growth and development in Simpsonville as an opportunity. He told the family, “You can’t stop progress. Change is inevitable, but growth is an option.”
Martin worked with Windsor Aughtry Company to sell the northeast and southeast corners of the intersection of Fairview Road and Harrison Bridge Road and to later lease the northwest corner of the property.
The southwest corner stood untouched as Martin vowed to remain in the house that stood on Martin Farms. He did so until his death in 2011 at age 86.
The Martin family was immediately approached by developers regarding the last undeveloped corner. When it was time to choose a developer, the family turned again to Windsor Aughtry Company, the company that Martin had first worked with more than 20 years earlier.
The development, which will feature 120,000 square feet of anchor and junior retail space, 9,600 square feet of shop space and six outparcels, will incorporate unique features from the farm.
Bricks from the home in which Martin lived for 80 years were salvaged to be used in signage. An old water trough for the cows, stones that served as benches and even the headstone of the first horse, Fairytale, were excavated and preserved to be featured in the development.
The silo, a landmark that stood prominently on the land, was not structurally sound but will be replicated on the property. Even the development name, Grand Central@Martin Farms, is a nod to the old family nickname for the farmhouse.
