Burlington will replace the closed Joann Inc. fabric and craft store at St. Johns Town Center now that the city issued a permit Nov. 25 for the $1.65 million conversion.
TDS Construction Inc. of Bradenton is the contractor for the 35,367-square-foot renovation at 10261 River Marsh Drive, Unit 149, between Lane Bryant and PetSmart.
The scope of work includes interior and exterior improvements to the tenant space that include new rooms, lights, floor and wall finishes and the modification of the front facade.
ADA Architects Inc. of Cleveland is the architect.
All Joann Inc. fabric and crafts stores shut down this year after the company auctioned its assets Feb. 21.
Hudson, Ohio-based Joann Inc. filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 15 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to sell its business to maximize value.
It closed three Northeast Florida stores in Argyle Village, St. Johns Town Center and in Yulee.
Burlington Stores Inc., headquartered in Burlington, New Jersey, is a national off-price retailer of clothing, home décor and other merchandise.
The Town Center store would be its seventh in the area.
Its existing six area stores are in Argyle Village Shopping Center, Gateway Town Center, Old St Augustine Plaza, Regency Plaza, River City Marketplace and Saint Johns.
Burlington appears to be downsizing its Regency Plaza store by two-thirds, creating space for two more retailers, including AutoZone.
Burlington leased at least 80,500 square feet of space at 9824 Atlantic Blvd. in the shopping center at southeast Atlantic Boulevard and Live Oak Drive.
The location is near Regency Square Mall in Arlington.
The city is reviewing a permit application for a split in the space at an estimated project cost of $200,000. That project would prepare 31,425 square feet of space for future build-out by AutoZone.
The city also is reviewing permits for an estimated $2.4 million project to downsize the remaining Burlington space and build-out its eventual smaller store at a cost of $1.1 million.
Seeking smaller stores
A brochure by CBRE Retail Specialist Lara Bahri Higgs shows the spaces in round numbers with Burlington down to 28,000 square feet – a third of its original size.
While the St. Johns Town Center store is larger, Burlington says on burlington.com that its preferred size ranges from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet.
Its newer area stores are in the 24,000- to 25,000-square-foot range.
Burlington says in an investor presentation dated May 2025 that its Burlington 2.0 goals include smaller stores.
Trade website CREDaily.com reported Jan. 31, 2025, that Burlington is cutting store sizes by nearly 80%, “opting for smaller locations that focus on offering customers a ‘treasure-hunt’ shopping experience at low prices.”
Expansion strategy
The site said that with an aggressive expansion strategy to open 400 net new stores over the next four years, Burlington is competing with larger rivals, like Ross Stores and TJX Cos., whose banners include T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy and Famous Footwear lease at St. Johns Town Center in the same strip of stores where Burlington will operate.
The trade site says that at Burlington’s newer locations, “the days of sprawling, cluttered big-box stores are over.”
“In this revamped format, merchandise is neatly arranged, and customers can more easily navigate aisles to find bargains.”
BurlingtonInvestors.com says Burlington started its retailing business in 1972, opening its first Burlington Coat Factory store in Burlington, New Jersey.
Its initial strategy was to offer branded outerwear for the family, with prices substantially below department store retail prices.
It rebranded to Burlington Stores during 2014-16 to communicate that Burlington is “more than just coats.”
It says it now has 1,115 stores in 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico with the potential to expand to 2,000 stores.