New stores at Mayfaire Town Center could begin to rise from vacant land by the beginning of next year, according to an official with the company that owns the center.
 
“It’s too early in the process to provide a concrete timeline, but we expect that construction will begin in the first quarter of 2016, and the project will be completed by summer 2017,” wrote Stacey Keating, corporate marketing specialist with center owner CBL & Associates Inc., in an email Monday evening.
 
Site plans for Phase III of Mayfaire Town Center's retail development, currently under review by city of Wilmington planning officials, describe the proposed addition of about 90,000 square feet in seven new buildings on vacant land near the center's movie theater. Some of the retail spaces drawn on the plans are labeled with the names of specific retailers, including general clothing store H&M; plus-size clothing store Lane Bryant; Hot Topic, which sells music- and pop culture-themed fashions and accessories; Torrid, which sells lingerie; furniture store West Elm; and West Marine, which offers boating accessories and parts, boating-related apparel and fishing supplies.
 
A few of the stores currently have locations in the Wilmington area. Lane Bryant and Hot Topic are at Independence Mall, 3500 Independence Blvd., while West Marine is in Lumina Commons, 1930 Eastwood Road.
 
Ascena Retail Group Inc., the publicly traded company that owns the Lane Bryant brand, also owns other brands already located in Mayfaire Town Center spaces, including children’s clothing store Justice, which has another location at Independence Mall, and women’s clothing stores Catherines and Ann Taylor, according to the company’s website.
 
West Elm, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, is part of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. portfolio of brands, which also includes two brands already present in Mayfaire Town Center storefronts: Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn.
 
Keating said she could not confirm specific tenants for the proposed Phase III space.
 
“We’re working with a number of exciting tenants, many of which are new to the market. However, we cannot make announcements until leases are signed,” Keating wrote in the email.
 
Two existing storefronts were empty Tuesday at Mayfaire Town Center, including Bijuju (shown above) at 868 Inspiration Drive, which sold mainly jewelry and accessories, and athletic apparel store TrySports, which began holding a store-closing sale this summer. Locally owned furniture store Luxe, a town center tenant for 10 years, is moving out of its Mayfaire space at 6859 Monument Drive as it expands its Leland location, 270 Old Regent Way.    
 
Keating said the CBL & Associates leasing team is working with a number of potential retailers for the TrySports and Luxe spaces, but can’t make announcements on any new stores until leases are signed.