The W.T. Grant Company is the first firm to sign a lease as a tenant in the proposed Carbon Plaza shopping center to be constructed along Route 443, a mile west of Lehighton.

Murray Mackson, Esq., counsel for the developer, Mark Realty Co., said the Grant company will operate a complete department store in 65,000 square feet of the new complex. In addition to general merchandise, the store will also have a restaurant, garden shop and automotive supplies center.

The center, which is expected to cover 150,000 square feet of selling space, will be located on a tract of land on the south side of Route 443 in the vicinity of the Henry Reich home and the former Herman Steigerwalt Garage.