Haskins Garden Centres has unveiled plans for a £12m development of its Roundstone centre near Worthing, West Sussex.
Work will start next month to build a new centre on 15 acres of land behind the existing roadside centre, which will remain open while construction takes place.
Fifty full and part-time employees will be added to the 75-strong team in time for the official opening in March 2012, when the old centre will then be demolished to make way for a 500-space car park.
The new centre is designed by Gloucester-based architects Roberts Limbrick, and is based on Haskins' successful centres in Ferndown Dorset and West End, Southampton.
Haskins chief executive Julian Winfield said: "Since the construction of our Ferndown centre in 1994 and at West End in 1996 where we demolished the original centre as we will do here, we have seen dramatic growth in turnover and received many awards from within the garden centre industry and much praise from customers. People need not worry about any change of our support to the community as our commitment to local organisations and charities will remain a priority."
A modern, single-storey building will replace the commercial greenhouses currently standing on the site. The indoor and outdoor plant areas are set to double in size, and there will be a new floor plan for the indoor departments including houseplants, gifts, books, pets, clothing and furniture.
The development also includes a 460-seat restaurant with free Wi-Fi, a large patio area for alfresco dining and an extendable function room to be named the Roundstone room.
The company is also investing £2.3m to double the size of its catering operation at the West End centre.