After much fanfare and a 2007 special election, Cabela's opened a store in Rapid City on Aug. 7. And while the store has been popular with outdoors shoppers, it has yet to lure a lot of new businesses to be its neighbors.
An RV store sits across the street and a Tractor Supply Co. is planned nearby, but no one else has built next to the outdoor outfitter. Sam's Club, which considered moving to a spot near the store, decided instead to move to the Rushmore Crossing shopping area across the interstate.
Meanwhile, Foursquare Properties, the California company spearheading the Cabela's development, changed the site plan to indicate the development would host more small stores and fewer large anchor stores.
Cabela's officials call the 80,000-square-foot store a prototype of the outdoor retailer's next generation of buildings that pack more retail punch for their size. The store was one of two to open in the U.S.
City leaders brought the Cabela's store to town with an incentive package that included 27 acres of land and $2 million. When a local grassroots campaign forced a special election on the city council's incentive in September 2007, approximately two of three voters approved of the land transfer.
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