We are less than 3-months away from two new department stores entering the economy in Murfreesboro. A third will be open in 2015.

One of the three new stores that are currently under construction will offer everything from bed, bath and kitchen decor to toys and groceries. The store we are talking about is Kroger.

The company is in the process of building a Kroger Marketplace at their current Innsbrooke location on South Church Street that originally opened in 2002. The expansion will increase the size of the store to 95,000 square feet. Right now the store is only 52,000 square feet in size. The additional space will equal about 25 new jobs to the south side of the county as well as the likelihood of increased traffic.

On the opposite side of town another Walmart is under construction. The Walmart on Memorial Boulevard in front of the Murfreesboro Airport is slated to open by Black Friday. The Walmart on Memorial will mark the opening of Walmart number three in Murfreesboro.

Going back to the South Church Street area, residents on that end of town will also have a new Walmart. Just down the street from the future Kroger Marketplace, Walmart is building a fourth store in Murfreesboro at the intersection of Joe B. Jackson Parkway and South Church Street. Store number four will open in the first quarter of 2015.

By comparison, the Kroger expansion on S. Church St. will conclude with a store that is 95,000 square feet in size. The average Walmart is close to 180,000 square feet in size.