Grocer Sprouts to open South Philly store in 2018, but not in Moorestown
Sprouts, which now has 280 stores in 15 states, is in the middle of an expansion aimed at satisfying growing demand for organic and minimally processed foods at prices that are said to often undercut competitors.
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Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. said its store planned in a historic train shed as part of the Lincoln Square development in South Philadelphia will open before the end of this year.
The project's owner, New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based retail landlord Kimco Realty Corp., said in a release Thursday that the 32,000-square-foot store at South Broad Street and Washington Avenue will open between October and December.
Sprouts, which now has 280 stores in 15 states, is in the middle of an expansion aimed at satisfying growing demand for organic and minimally processed foods at prices that are said to often undercut competitors.
Thursday's announcement marked the company's first confirmation of its plans for Lincoln Square, which were first reported by the Inquirer in May. The project also includes Target Corp. and PetSmart Inc. stores, as well as 322 apartments that are scheduled to be ready for occupancy this summer.
Sprouts also had reportedly been closing in on a deal to take space in part of a property formerly occupied by a Macy's store at the Moorestown Mall in Burlington County, but a spokesman for the natural grocer said Thursday that the Lincoln Square location is the only one currently planned for the Philadelphia area.
Heather Crowell, a spokeswoman for Moorestown Mall's Philadelphia-based owner, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, said the company is moving forward with another grocer for the site but declined to provide further details.