Urban grocers proliferate

New Urban News Article with images, 10/1/2009

Demographic and market conditions are causing supermarkets in the District of Columbia region and elsewhere to modify their designs and fit walkable neighborhoods.

A trend towards urban supermarkets is evident even in this economic downturn. In the Washington, DC, area, at least 10 grocery stores with pedestrian-friendly design have been built or are moving toward construction.

Urban-format grocery stores are built mostly in transit-served, walkable neighborhoods — often where new urban development is taking place, says Brian O’Looney of Torti Gallas and Partners in Silver Spring, Maryland. The firm is working on a Whole Foods Market in North Bethesda, Maryland, with MV+A Architects, and on Safeways in Washington’s Georgetown and Tenleytown sections. All are urban-format stores; the first two are expected to open in 2010. The Tenleytown store is scheduled to start construction next year.

“We are definitely focusing on stores in our urban core and will not be building stores in urban areas that are growth dependent,” says Craig Muckle, manager of public affairs and government relations for Safeway’s Eastern Division. Safeway is one of North America’s largest supermarket chains with more than 1,700 stores, the company reports.