Fort Bragg entertainment shopping center project gets the ax
FORT BRAGG — Plans are now canceled for an 85,000 square-foot shopping center anchored by a movie theater at Fort Bragg, a spokesman for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service said this week.
AAFES’ board of directors previously approved the construction of the Freedom Crossing Center at Fort Bragg in November 2014, which had an estimated budget of $27 million by November 2018.
Yet, as construction projects paused nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was reevaluated, said Chris Ward, an AAFES spokesman.
More:Will Fayetteville benefit from new Bragg entertainment complex?
On Tuesday, Ward said AAFES decided to cancel the project, which had updated construction costs estimated at more than double what was projected in 2018.
In 2020, former Fort Bragg garrison commander Col. Scott Pence indicated that officials were assessing whether a shopping center would thrive, as consumer trends moved to online shopping during the pandemic.
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Plans had called for the project to be anchored by a movie theater surrounded by name-brand specialty retailers, with a mix of casual, fast-casual and quick-service restaurant tenants.
Confirmed tenants of the now-canceled center included CW Theaters, Black Rifle Coffee Co. and 5.11 Tactical, according to a website for the proposed development.
A similar project, also known as Freedom Crossing, completed construction at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2010.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fort Bragg shopping center project axed
