New County Market Tenant Possible By End Of 2017

WOODINVILLE, WA - The company that owns the former County Market supermarket hopes to fill the empty retail space by late 2017, and is in negotiations with possible tenants.

RPAI Woodinville owns the entire County Market property, and company spokeswoman Kim Freely told Patch.com that the company hopes to have the space leased by the end of the year. Because the company is involved in lease negotiations, Freely could not divulge what king of tenant - be it a grocery store or another retailer - might occupy the space.

Illinois-based RPAI (Retail Properties of America, Inc.) bought the shopping plaza around the County Market in 2015 for $35 million. According to King County records, RPAI Woodinville bought the County Market portion of the shopping plaza in August 2016.

The County Market, formerly an Albertsons, closed in September, leaving Woodinville with only one grocery store - a Haggen - inside city limits. Speculation about what might occupy the former County Market has been rampant. A recent post on a Woodinville Facebook group page speculated - falsely - that a Salvation Army thrift store would move in.

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