The Bass Pro Shops in St. Augustine is moving toward opening with St. Johns County issuing permits for exterior signage Oct. 28.
The new store is under construction at 355 World Commerce Parkway, south of Buc-ee’s and Costco Wholesale. It is west of Interstate 95 at the International Golf Parkway exit south of World Golf Village.
The 100,000-square-foot store will open this year, according to its website. In an email Oct. 29, a company representative declined to disclose the opening date.
The county’s Planning and Zoning Agency unanimously recommended approval of the $62,000 signs Oct. 17. The engineer is Elrod Engineering of Smyrna, Tennessee. Daytona-based Southeastern Lighting Solutions is the designer.
The wall sign package includes 16 signs to be placed on all four sides of the building and its rooftop, which is visible from Interstate 95. The total square footage is 4,364 square feet.
Bass Pro Shops, which announced its plans in May 2023 to open a retail store, was issued permits March 21 to build-out. It hosted hiring events to fill 130 positions Sept. 10-11 at World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort.
According to the company’s website, the St. Augustine store will be the 13th in Florida. It operates 174 retail stores in the U.S. and in Canada.
The store will sell fishing and outdoor gear for activities including hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing and camping. It also will sell boats, ATVs and side-by-side vehicles.
The website said the store will have an aquarium with native fish species, thousands of local antiques and artifacts, hundreds of trophy fish and wildlife mounts, and murals depicting local scenes.
Bass Pro Shops was founded in 1972 when Chief Executive Officer Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri.