oh god.

A group of Knoxville developers has inked a deal to bring a Walmart and a Publix grocery store to the former Fulton Bellows site near the University of Tennessee campus.

A development group that includes Budd Cullom, Jim Harrison and Mike McGuffin said in a statement that a project called University Commons will be built at the property located between Volunteer Boulevard and AlcoaHighway. The project will include 211,000 square feet of retail and parking space.

"With the commitment from Publix, we will provide a grocery and supermarket service not currently available and one that is much needed in this area," McGuffin, a partner with CHM, said in the statement. "Downtown residents, students on campus, residents from Alcoa Highway and other local neighborhoods will all greatly benefit from the convenience University Commons will provide."

The "distinctive multistory structure will revive the look and feel of a turn-of-the-century factory, adapted for an urban shopping and dining experience for visitors," according to the statement. (via)

yikes.