Burlington is slicing up its roughly 81,000 square foot Regency Plaza store in Arlington, trimming its own footprint to make room for a larger-format AutoZone and a third tenant. City building permits and construction plans filed this winter show the subdivision and remodel of the former big-box space are officially underway. The overhaul falls right in line with a broader retail playbook, where oversized stores are broken into multiple, more targeted spaces that better fit what neighborhood shoppers actually use.
Permits Spell Out The New Layout And Price Tag
A city building permit issued Feb. 27 clears the landlord to split the remaining 49,733 square feet that Burlington occupies into about 27,308 square feet for Burlington and 22,425 square feet for another tenant, according to Jax Daily Record. The paperwork names Able Construction as the contractor and calls for demolition of the existing entry canopy, installation of new canopies, a new entry, and interior walls to carve up the box.
Sign permits on file show Burlington intends to stay open while all this is happening, with temporary banners in the mix and a new permanent sign planned that will read “Burlington Deals. Brands. Wow!”
Leasing Brochure Maps Out Who Goes Where
A CBRE leasing brochure, shared with local reporters, shows Burlington shrinking to about 28,000 square feet, a roughly 30,000 square foot space reserved for AutoZone and an available unit of nearly 22,500 square feet, as reported by Jacksonville Business Journal. The brochure and the permit set do not spell out hard opening dates for the incoming tenants.
Taken together, the documents underline Burlington’s broader nationwide shift toward smaller “2.0” stores and AutoZone’s appetite for bigger hub style locations.
AutoZone Hub Stores Could Shake Up Center Traffic
AutoZone told investors it plans roughly $1.6 billion in capital spending this fiscal year to speed up store growth and expand hub and megahub locations that stock far more SKUs than a standard site, according to Nasdaq. Those larger-format hubs are designed to replenish smaller satellite stores nearby and can reset both traffic and delivery patterns at shopping centers that are carved out of former big-box spaces.
What It Means For Regency Plaza Shoppers
Permit records list America’s Realty LLC as the landlord and show project managers and contractors already attached to the job, suggesting Regency Plaza’s owner is actively repositioning the property to land new tenants and keep foot traffic steady for its remaining anchors, per Jax Daily Record. The physical work on site, including demolition, new canopies and separate storefront entries, will change how customers move through the plaza, and both parking and delivery patterns may need a rethink once AutoZone’s larger inventory hub comes online.
In the short term, shoppers can expect a smaller, easier-to-navigate Burlington paired with a sizable auto parts destination a few steps away. Longer term, the open question is whether that third carved-out space lands a retailer or service that plays well with the new lineup.
For now, there is no public timeline for any of the openings, and neither Burlington nor AutoZone has released firm dates, according to Jacksonville Business Journal. Lease materials and permits indicate the center is being reworked in phases so Burlington can keep operating through construction, but exact move-in dates are likely to hinge on tenant build-outs and how quickly the remaining permits clear.
