P3 is first in former Ingles center

Wendy SmithFarragut, The Farragut Insider

It took a lot of work and patience, but the new P3 Sportsplex, home to P3 Martial Arts, is now open in the former Ingles shopping center on Kingston Pike. The organization had its eye on the shopping center even before it was renovated in 2019.

“It’s an absolutely perfect location,” says Jim Fetty of P3. “Ingles has been wonderful to work with.”

While Ingles has proven to be a good landlord, the company was slow to respond to requests from Farragut officials to maintain its property. A new store was built west of the original store in 2008 and when the surrounding tenants moved out, the center fell into disrepair. In 2018, the Town threatened legal action to get the company to rehabilitate the space.

P3 is essentially two different businesses. One is a martial arts school that teaches taekwondo and jujitsu, and the other is an after-school program. The two sides had separate locations in Village Green Shopping Center before moving to the new location. The combined square footage of the previous locations was approximately 3,200. The new site is approximately 10,000 square feet, says Sarah Helms, director of the after-school and summer camp programs.

The new space is a dream come true for students and staff. In addition to the large studio with a climbing wall and trampoline, it has individual classrooms, changing rooms, a game wall with TVs and Nintendo Switch consoles, and a grassy outdoor play space that is part of the lease. The additional space will accommodate a new cheer and tumbling program that launches in June. There are 105 students in the after-school program and 300 in the martial arts school. It takes 32 employees to run the operation, which includes picking up students from seven area elementary schools.

“It helps to have everything in one building, and the pick-up line is so much easier,” says Helms. The pick-up area is behind the shopping center, which is simpler for parents than navigating the traffic at Village Green.

The P3 Sportsplex opened on May 2, and plans are already in the works to expand into the 5,000-square-foot space next door. But, so far, P3 is the only tenant in the shopping center.

“A lot of people stop by, wanting to know more about the space,” says Fetty.

P3 owner Scott Bailey spent months trying to nail down a lease with Ingles and ultimately got his foot in the door through Keller Williams broker Andy Curtin. Curtin says he was tenacious about reaching out to the leasing agent and now has a relationship with him. If potential lessees have patience, the shopping center has available space, he says.

P3 will lease the space west of their current location, and a nail salon is currently building out the space to the east. Three additional spaces in the shopping center have a total of approximately 40,000 square feet, and Curtin says Ingles has indicated they are willing to subdivide.

There is a different story behind every empty retail space in Farragut. In some cases, the property owners, or long-term lease agreements, make it difficult for businesses to move into vacant spaces. Congratulations to P3 Martial Arts on successfully securing space at the former Ingles shopping center. We hope you will soon have neighbors.

Town of Farragut marketing and public relations coordinator Wendy Smith is your reliable Farragut insider.

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