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Bass Pro Shops will open its third location in St. Louis at the site of the former Toys R Us in Sunset Hills.
The outdoor retailer, based in Springfield, Missouri, is in negotiations to lease and redevelop 75,000 square feet in the Shoppes at Sunset Hills as a Bass Pro Shops location, which is expected to open in the second half of 2022. Bass Pro will occupy the space that previously housed the toy store and a Ross Dress for Less, which are both currently vacant.
The shopping center, at 3600 S. Lindbergh Blvd., also holds a location of The Tile Shop and, on an outlot, LongHorn Steakhouse. The Tile Shop is still under lease and will continue to operate even with Bass Pro coming in, Sansone Group broker Grant Mechlin told the Business Journal.
The announcement is something of a surprise considering that Amazon as recently as March had considered turning the former Toys R Us site into the region’s first Amazon Fresh grocery store. The city of Sunset Hills even approved a 40-year Community Improvement District sales tax for a “new to the market grocery store” at that location, according to the Call Newspapers of South County.
It’s unclear what happened with Amazon’s interest in the site. The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen will vote Tuesday night on an amendment to the previous sales tax agreement that it could apply to the Bass Pro Shops project instead of a smaller grocery store.
The South County location of Bass Pro will be at the intersection of Watson Road with Lindbergh Boulevard, about 2 miles west of the proposed redevelopment of the former Crestwood Plaza mall. It will join St. Charles and Hazelwood as the home of local Bass Pro Shops locations.
Landlord Sansone Group was represented on the deal by Mechlin and Mark Kornfeld.
“This is an excellent location, and we are excited to be bringing a successful and highly sought-after retailer to the Sunset Hills and the South St. Louis Metro Area,” Mechlin said in a news release.
Like all Bass Pro Shops locations, the new store will feature a completely unique customer design that will serve as a tribute to the “great sporting heritage of the region and a celebration of the sportsmen and women of Missouri,” the company said.
