ICYMI: Is The Fresh Market Coming to Richmond Highway?

An upscale grocer may be coming to a mixed development project going up in the former Penn Daw Plaza shopping center, according to a report by the Washington Business Journal.

The newspaper talked with Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, who reports that The Fresh Market is going to be a part of the new development, called South Alex.

The developers are saying, however: “We are excited about the project and its potential to transform the South Alexandria neighborhood,” developer Combined Properties Inc.’s Randy Kenna tells WBJ. “We’d love to bring a great specialty grocer but we have no deal with The Fresh Market.”

Here’s what SFDC has to say about the South Alex development, on its Web site:

Combined Properties Inc., the longtime owner of Penn Daw Plaza, has announced plans to demolish the 50-year old shopping center and replace it with a mixed-use, transit-oriented development, newly named South Alex.

Situated right in the heart of rapidly- developing South Alexandria, South Alex is located at the intersection of Route 1 and Kings Highway, and is within comfortable walking distance of the Huntington Metro station. The development will be composed of 400 Class-A apartment units, 41 townhouses, 44,000 SF of retail space, and a national specialty grocer.

The planned development is in line with the 2012 Comprehensive Plan amendment for the Penn Daw area, and received rezoning approval by the Board of Supervisors on January 14, 2014. Groundbreaking is anticipated in late 2015.

Stay tuned. Read the entire Washington Business Journal story here.

Rendering of South Alex development from Combined Properties Inc., courtesy of SFDC