New Seasons Market has announced plans to open a store in North Portland. I first mentioned this back in September 2008. With the new store opening planned for 2013, I only fell short by three years or so. Here is the press release:
New Seasons Market today announced that it will open a store in Portland’s Eliot Neighborhood in 2013. The 30,000 square-foot grocery store will occupy the north portion of the now-vacant site, formerly home to Interstate Bakeries. The nearly three-acre site, commonly known as the “Bakery Blocks,” is bounded by Northeast Fremont Street to the north, North Vancouver Avenue to the west, Northeast Cook Street to the south, and North Williams Avenue to the east, all within the city’s Interstate Urban Renewal District.
The store will bring more than 150 new jobs with healthcare and benefits to the community, along with New Seasons Market’s fun and friendly shopping experience, featuring a wide selection of everyday groceries, locally grown and produced foods, homemade meals, an in-house butcher and a complete line of wellness and homegoods products.
“We strive to build community inside and outside of our stores – by employing local residents, providing goods and services to our neighbors and supporting local and regional producers and suppliers,” said Lisa Sedlar, President and CEO of New Seasons Market. “We are excited to convert this long-vacant site, which is walking and biking distance of homes, schools, offices and transit, into a lively spot that we hope will add to the neighborhood’s vitality.”
“New Seasons’ proposed new store is great news; it will bring fresh, local food and groceries to neighborhoods that last year we identified in the Portland Plan as a food desert,” said City of Portland Mayor Sam Adams.
“We’ve found the perfect tenant and partner in New Seasons Market,” said Roger Collins of Ivy Street Partners. “Our goal is to develop this site with features, services and resources that enhance the livability of the neighborhood and are accessible to everyone.”
Collins is also developing a 155-unit mixed-use project at North Interstate and Skidmore, which is expected to break ground this spring. Leaders of both organizations will work closely with Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, residents, community leaders and the city to finalize the store design and site plans.
The Eliot neighborhood store will be New Seasons Market’s 13th store since opening its first store in February 2000. Updates on the project and key events will be shared on the company’s Facebook page. No date has been set for ground-breaking or the store’s opening.
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