The old Big Lots is becoming two stores, not one

When we first wrote about HomeSense coming to Riverchase Crossings, the development agreement was the story and the building itself was a blank. It is less blank now.

What is confirmed

The former Big Lots space is 37,793 square feet, and it is being divided into two storefronts: 27,278 square feet for HomeSense and 10,515 square feet for a new Shoe Dept. The address is 1773 Montgomery Highway, Birmingham, AL 35244, next to Trader Joe’s and Sierra (Bham Now, September 16, 2026).

This will be Alabama’s first and only HomeSense, and Hoover’s only Shoe Dept. Until it opens, the nearest HomeSense to Birmingham is in Peachtree City, Georgia (Bham Now, September 16, 2026).

The Big Lots closed in February 2025 and the space has been empty since (Bham Now, September 16, 2026). Additional coverage of the city’s approval quotes city documents saying the measure was meant to “grow its tax revenues, expand and enhance its economic and tax base” and “promote the city as a center for retail and commercial activity” (al.com, September 19, 2026).

What is still not confirmed

No opening date has been published for either store. Not a month, not a season. We looked again this week and there is nothing. If you see a date circulating, it did not come from the city or from either retailer as far as we can find.

We also want to be precise about the address, because there are two floating around. Both dated news sources say 1773 Montgomery Highway. A commercial listing for the same center uses 1775 to 1777. We are going with 1773.

Why the split matters more than it sounds

Two tenants in one box is a different proposition from one. It means the center is being leased to fill, not held for a single anchor, and it means the parking and traffic pattern at that end of Riverchase Crossings will be busier than a single-tenant reuse would have been. For anyone living off Lorna Road or shopping that center on a Saturday, that is the practical change.

It is also, plainly, good news for the center. An empty 37,793-square-foot box on Montgomery Highway had been sitting there since early last year.

Two other openings this month

Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Co. has relocated its Hoover restaurant to 2801 John Hawkins Parkway, moving from five years in Lake Crest Plaza. The new spot is next to Tortugas and across the parkway from Academy Sports. Its Homewood location remains open (Hoover Sun, September 13, 2026).

The Painted Purple Turtle, a DIY arts-and-crafts studio, has opened at 3704 Lorna Road in the River Oaks Village shopping center. It held its grand opening August 29, and projects use wood, resin, paint and sea glass (Hoover Sun, September 13, 2026).

No Hoover business closings carried a date in the past ten days. Our running openings and closings roundup has the earlier ones.