NEWARK, NJ—Wakefern Food Corp., the merchandising and distribution arm for ShopRite grocery stores, has signed a 67,000-sq.-ft. lease to open a new supermarket at Springfield Avenue Marketplace in Newark, N.J. As anchor tenant, ShopRite will service approximately 280,000 Newark residents, 180,000 members of the city’s workforce and 60,000 college students and faculty.
“Newark residents deserve convenient access to fresh and healthy food options, and there is no better place for a large grocery store than Springfield Avenue,” said Newark Mayor Cory Booker. “Located in the heart of the city, this new ShopRite will strengthen our local economy by retaining more of our citizens’ buying power in Newark, in addition to providing hundreds of new job opportunities for residents.”
Being developed by Tucker Development Corp., Springfield Avenue Marketplace will contain 125,000 sq. ft. of retail space and is the city’s largest new retail development. In addition to its retail component, the development will include approximately 150 residential apartments.
The development, situated on an 11-acre site at the northeast corner of Springfield Avenue and Jones Street, is expected to create approximately 240 construction jobs and nearly 400 full- and part-time jobs.
“ShopRite and other retailers at Springfield Avenue Marketplace will help recapture a large portion of the $575 million in retail sales that Newark loses every year, as residents have been forced to make 38 percent of their purchases outside the city,” said Richard Tucker, president and CEO of Tucker Development Corp. “It will also provide a necessary resource to neighborhood residents, create employment opportunities, and help to increase the City’s tax revenue base. Further, new quality apartments will serve the growing demand in Newark, and specifically around University Heights.”
Groundbreaking on the development is slated to take place this fall.