In addition to the Wal-Mart expansion, the company is adding a 31,000-sf Ross Dress for Less in the location previously occupied by an Ingles grocery store. The Wal-Mart Supercenter and Ross Dress for Less are expected to open in the summer.

"Wal-Mart's expansion to a superstore at Northwest Crossing marks the third conversion of an existing Wal-Mart to the larger format within our core shopping center portfolio," says Dennis Gershenson, president and CEO of the Southfield-based REIT. "The decision by Wal-Mart to expand to a superstore is a testament to the shopping center's superior location and attractive trade area demographics. The addition of the Ross Dress for Less is an example of the interest by national retailers as well as local tenants to be part of a shopping center with a Walmart Supercenter, which draws such an incredible number of customers daily."

The REIT says Northwest Crossing is the largest and most dominant shopping center in the northwestern Knoxville area.