The race might be on to see who can open the first new grocery store in Calgary’s developing downtown eastside.
A spokesperson for Calgary Co-op — which already owns one store in the Beltline — said Tuesday, the company is in the market for a second, smaller-format location in the downtown.
“We’re negotiating right now on some spots,” said Tony Argento, director of real estate and development for Calgary Co-op. “We intend to have another presence in the downtown core other than our Midtown store.”
Construction of a Loblaws store is already underway in the new “5th & Third” shopping complex near the East Village. That project will utilize the Ontario-based company’s “CityMarket” format.
A website for the development shows the store will be an 82,000-square-foot store designed to appeal to urban tastes.
According to the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, the store is slated for a 2019 opening.
READ MORE: New Central Library, condos and hotel among completion milestones for Calgary’s East Village in 2018
Argento couldn’t confirm whether Calgary Co-op was looking at setting up shop in the East Village, or whether his company might beat Loblaws in opening their doors.
“We’re looking at a couple of spots and there is maybe a possibility,” Argento said.
Argento said Calgary Co-op’s goal would be to appeal to customers who might shop as often as every day to buy goods.
“In a downtown situation, more urban, you’ve got a bit more limited storage space in the condominiums and places where people live,” Argento said.
“So, we have to look at adapting our model to suiting different communities.”
Comments