New strip mall on Mount Auburn will bring Cape's first Talbots women's store

The Cape Girardeau area will see its first Talbots women's store when a new strip mall completes construction later this year.

Park West Centre, 201 S. Mount Auburn Road, is a 18,000-square-foot, $1.2 million construction project headed by the Mid-America Hotels Corp.

The L-shaped building will feature about seven stores, including a Talbots clothing store, which is scheduled to open in September.

A second store, the Honey Baked Ham Company and Cafe, was slated to open in June and will feature indoor seating and a drive-through and pick-up window.

At least five more stores are vacant in the shopping center for businesses to lease.

As of Tuesday, the foundation and walls for the center were being constructed, according to Mid-America vice president of development Bob Hahn said.

The shopping center is part of the Park West Hospitality Center and will feature Talbots as its anchor store, located at the corner of the strip mall.

"It added another dimension to the hospitality concept by adding shopping," Hahn said of the new shopping mall.

The property, which had been vacant for some time, was developed into the strip mall in an effort to complement the other facets in the center, which features Mid-America-owned conference centers, restaurants and hotels.

Hahn said he was happy to see Talbots come to Cape Girardeau, as the nearest location prior to the new store was in either Paducah, Ky,. or St. Louis.

"Cape is a developing small city and I think Talbots saw that, too," he said. "We feel fortunate to have them as an anchor tenant."

Talbots is a worldwide clothing store chain, and the new store in Cape Girardeau will feature women's clothing. A representative from the store could not be reached Tuesday night.

Mid-America Hotels is owned by the James L. Drury family, which owns and operates several franchises, including Holiday Inns and Burger Kings.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127