Work underway on new Albertsons store

Posted 1/27/22

Albertsons has begun work to convert the former Shopko building into a grocery store.

A contractor working on the property, located at 1005 Coulter Ave., recently applied for two building permits …

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Work underway on new Albertsons store

Posted

Albertsons has begun work to convert the former Shopko building into a grocery store.

A contractor working on the property, located at 1005 Coulter Ave., recently applied for two building permits with the City of Powell. MJT Construction, Inc. of Eagle, Idaho, filed an application for a $3.2 million remodel in November and submitted an application for $107,200 worth of interior demolition work in early December.

The city permits do not provide any timeline information, and calls to Albertsons’ corporate office in Boise were not returned by press time Wednesday.

Albertsons has said that its grocery store will include a liquor department, a pharmacy and a Starbucks coffee shop. According to social media posts made by a design firm working on the project, Powell’s new store will be a Safeway, but Albertsons has not made an official announcement.

The roughly 29,000 square foot building on Powell’s west side was formerly a Shopko store, but the chain went bankrupt and closed in June 2019. Albertsons purchased the facility in January 2020 from a private investment firm that bought up 78 Shopko properties amid the bankruptcy.

Plans for the new grocery store came to light in January 2021 when Albertsons applied for what was the city’s only available retail liquor license. The Pit Stop #12 gas station and convenience store, located at 241 W. Coulter Ave. and owned by Bailey Enterprises, Inc., sought the same license. 

Citing Albertsons’ potential for a greater number of jobs, the Powell City Council awarded the license to the grocery store chain on a 5-2 vote. At the time, a representative from Albertsons said the store would be open in roughly a year, but in October, the council learned that the plans had been delayed due to increasing costs and material shortages.

Bailey Enterprises later acquired a license that became available when the Red Stag bar closed down, but its plans to add a liquor department, drive-up window and food service have also been delayed. Owner Mike Bailey told the council last fall that he expected to begin  construction in the spring.

As of last month, Albertsons Companies Inc. operated 2,278 retail food and drug stores with 1,722 pharmacies, 399 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities. The company has $70 billion in sales annually and operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under more than 20 brands, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market. 

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