Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Another one bites the dust.

Oconee County has issued a permit for a 39,000-square-foot building at Epps Bridge Centre to house both Bed Bath & Beyond and Party City.

The new building will be located to the west of Marshalls in the last open area in the central core of Epps Bridge Centre, the strip mall that lies between the Oconee Connector, the Loop and Epps Bridge Parkway.

Bed Bath & Beyond and Party City currently are located in Athens Promenade on Atlanta Highway, less than three miles away from Epps Bridge Centre.

The departure of these two retailers from Athens Promenade will leave most of the nearly 133,000 square-foot-shopping center vacant.

Oconee County issued the building permit for the shell of the new building for the two retailers on Jan. 22.

Two days earlier, it issued a build-out permit for 2,400 square feet in an existing building at Epps Bridge Centre for a nail salon.

Old Navy, Best Buy and Pier 1 Imports are among the other big-box stores that have moved from Atlanta Highway to Epps Bridge Centre since it opened last year.

For more, visit Oconee County Observations.