The Cosmetic Market, a high-end beauty products retailer that recently opened at Warehouse Row, has received a retail incentive grant from the RiverCity Company.

The grant designates funding for the Cosmetic Market as it enters the prominent retail and design community at Warehouse Row with the firm's first store outside of the Middle Tennessee region.

The Cosmetic Market is utilizing the grant "to venture beyond a typical store design with an exterior storefront mural painting by local Chattanooga artist Shaun LaRose that highlights the character and history of the Warehouse Row buildings. As a unique partnership between a retailer and artist, the grant reflects the economic and cultural growth of a thriving downtown Chattanooga community."

Through its retail incentive programs, the RiverCity Company provides grants to attract leading retailers to the Chattanooga region and to promote historic reuse and urban design.

In addition to awarding the grant to The Cosmetic Market, RiverCity connected the beauty retailer with LaRose, a commercial muralist with experience educating communities on the socio-economic benefits of murals. LaRose, who also moved to Chattanooga because of a local arts grant, developed a vintage design for The Cosmetic Market’s storefront. The distressed black and white painting framing the store’s entryway has transparent areas showcasing the brick canvas, echoing the structures surrounding Warehouse Row.

“The Cosmetic Market painting at Warehouse Row is a unique opportunity to impact the revival of downtown Chattanooga through art,” said LaRose, who has dedicated his career to community arts initiatives. “Murals are about the places and not the artist, and with this mural, The Cosmetic Market is truly embracing the authenticity and story behind the Warehouse Row community.”

The Cosmetic Market signed a five-year lease at Warehouse Row in September, expanding operations to its fourth location in Tennessee. The store selected Warehouse Row because of the opportunity to contribute to the transformation of nearly 330,000 square feet of mixed-use boutique retail and sophisticated office space.

The Cosmetic Market converted its 2,890 square-foot space into a custom shop that highlights the history of Warehouse Row, employs eco-friendly design and exemplifies its inviting lifestyle brand. In addition to the mural, The Cosmetic Market used the RiverCity grant for additional greenery and an innovative interior build-out that includes a café and newsstand.

“From the outset, we were attracted to the creative vision Jamestown had for the reinvention of Warehouse Row as a downtown destination,” said Linda Roberts, owner of The Cosmetic Market. “Our philosophy is to create and adapt each of our stores to be an authentic expression of the surrounding community. The grant from RiverCity further empowered us to build the ideal store to resonate with the neighborhood and connect with both residents and out-of-town visitors.”