NEW AND NOTEWORTHY — THE NEW RETAIL DESTINATION IN MAURY COUNTY | PART 1

By Katie Baker

Columbia has become a destination shopping experience in Middle Tennessee. The eclectic options within the city limits have grown beyond the downtown square and into a variety of shopping districts including the Arts District, Walker & 8th, and a burgeoning area on the northwest side of Columbia that business owners are working to establish as the Bel Air District, where the Factory at Columbia and Shops at James Hill reside.

S + J HOUSE

In 2018, Darrell Lynn purchased the old shirt factory at 100 North James Campbell Boulevard and began transforming the 70,000 square feet of space into, the aptly named, Factory at Columbia. Lynn’s vision was inspired by The Factory at Franklin and includes a wide variety of tenants and businesses in both the retail, restaurant, fitness and corporate space. Exactly one year ago, the Factory at Columbia gained a new neighbor and with that, a shopping district was born.

JENNIFER BARNETT, S + J HOUSE OWNER

Lencauley Properties purchased a triangular property adjacent to the Factory at Columbia in 2021 and set about transforming the old metal and cinder block building into the Shops at James Hill. The 1940s building was originally home to a Columbia game supply store that supplied bar games and jukeboxes (along with a rumored bar). Marcia Lenci, Lencauley Properties partner, is a local interior designer who saw the potential in the building and with the help of her business partners was able to redesign the 7,466 square feet of space into a multi-tenant retail property.

“There are so many wonderful, new businesses that have opened on this corner, and every day we meet customers discovering us for the first time. As I learned about the history of the area an idea formed to try and brand our shopping destination the Bel Air District named after the original Bel Air house located nearby,” said Lenci.

SOCIETY MARKET

The Shops at James Hill first opened with Society Market, which is a sister business to the Cheesecake Society. Cheesecake Society creates gourmet personal-sized jars of cheesecake in a variety of flavors. After finding success with their food truck, they decided to create the Society Market shop to sell curated gifts and party goods along with their delicious cheesecakes.

Soon after Society Market opened, S + J House and Wild Roots Boutique moved into the Shops at James Hill as well. S + J House is a vibrant boutique with an eclectic mix of vintage and trendy pieces for the rhinestone cowgirl at heart. Wild Roots carries an array of house plants for the green thumb enthusiast and the newbie ready to dip their toe into the world of succulents and potted plants.

MADI HUNT — MARKET SOCIETY CO-OWNER (OTHER CO-OWNERS BETHANY DAVIS & CINDY PALMERI)

Last fall, the Society Market, Wild Roots, and S + J House hosted in-house events and collaborated on events like their Pink Friday shopping extravaganza and Fall Festival. The property features a courtyard in the front that is perfect for live music and food truck events, and there are plans in the works to begin hosting outdoor cornhole tournaments. And during the holidays, Lenci had a pop-up Christmas shop called Holly-N-Pine that quickly sold out before the turkey even hit the table for Thanksgiving. Another holiday pop-up the Shops at James Hill hosted was MJ’s Gift Wrap, a fullservice gift-wrapping company adding that extra touch to presents under the Christmas tree.

WILD ROOTS BOUTIQUE

At this time there are a few spaces left in the Shops at James Hill for retail tenants to consider. “We are hoping to find a recreational business that could offer residents something fun to do — miniature golf, bocce courts, or dance school,” explained Lenci. “The smaller space we have available is the original part of the building with old block walls that have a great, rustic texture while the new wood-look floors add a rustic vibe. This space would be great with any specialty retail or perhaps a salon/spa.”

To learn more about the events at the Shops at James Hill you can follow the tenants’ Instagram accounts at @shopsocietymarket, @shopsandjhousellc, @wildrootstn, and @cheesecakesocietyofficial. For leasing inquiries for either location contact the Katie Baker Group, RE/MAX Encore at (901) 351-7235 or katie@katiebakergroup.com