Jordan Wilson

Daily Egyptian

Construction began recently on the old Goody's property that will soon become a Petco pet store and officials said the store should be open in about four months.

A bright orange neon chain joining two fences together and yellow caution tape help mark off the site of the construction of the property located in the University Place shopping center. The building is being remodeled both inside and outside the store, said Ben Westra, the owner of WDS contractors.

"We're completely gutting the interior space," said Westra, who added that construction began a few weeks ago. "It will be a whole new interior."

Westra, whose company has worked on several Petcos in the Midwest, said he is collaborating with a handful of local contractors to get the job done. He said there isn't an exact date to complete the job, but the construction is scheduled to finish before summer.

If completed according to schedule, the store's opening day should be May 29, Petco corporate spokesperson Dan Cowan said.

Cowan said the Petco should have a more modern setup compared to the other 1500 stores nationwide. He said there should be an aquatic section in the middle of the store and everything else will be based around it. Cowan also said the Carbondale Petco will feature a self-grooming and grooming area.

"It helps draw people in, it's visually engaging," Cowan said of the aquatic center. "It helps create a core part of the store, you can walk around it. It's one of the things we try to do for a very pleasant shopping experience."

The Petco building will occupy about 14,000 square feet of space, which will leave about an 8,000-foot block open for lease. Stephen Ifshin, chairman for DLC Property Management - the company which owns the University Place shopping center - said he is still looking for a tenant for that part of the building.

Ifshin also owns the old K-Mart property, on the other side of Best Buy, and said that space doesn't have a tenant, either.

Regardless of what happens around it, the Petco building is set to come to Carbondale, something Cowan said he is very pleased about.

"We're looking forward to it," Cowan said. "It is exciting for us and hopefully exciting to the community. For those who love animals, hopefully they'll like it and become loyal customers."