New Raley’s in Land Park would include more than just a grocery store

This article, written by Sonya Sorich, was originally published on September 8, 2015 in Sacramento Business Journal.

Plans filed last week with the city of Sacramento indicate the former Capital Nursery site in Land Park will become more than just a grocery store. A nearly 109,000-square-foot retail center is in the works, with Raley’s as the anchor.

The center at Freeport Boulevard and Wentworth Avenue would include an approximately 55,000-square-foot grocery store, a roughly 12,000-square-foot “junior anchor tenant” and about 41,980 square feet of shops and restaurants, according to a planning entitlement application that the city received on Sept. 3.

The proposed project would also feature “multiple outdoor plazas” and “seating areas for outdoor dining,” the application says.

When Capital Nursery closed its Land Park store in 2012, Raley’s bought the property. But the time frame for moving forward with a new grocery store at the site was unclear.

Raley’s acquired the property in partnership with developer MO Capital, according to Raley’s spokeswoman Chelsea Minor. “They will manage the lease options with future tenants,” she said. The architect is San Francisco-based MCG Architecture.

The new store will replace the existing Raley’s location that’s a block away in Land Park. That store has been open for more than 57 years, she said.

New raley's in land park would include more than just a grocery store

“Raley’s is collaborating with MO Capital to develop a facility with design elements and landscape plans that tie the project to the unique feel of the Land Park residential community,” Minor said in a prepared statement. She said the project is still in its early stages and did not provide a time frame for completion.

It’s one of two new local Raley’s stores that are in the works. In August, the company announced plans to build a 36,000-square-foot location at the former Hubacher Cadillac dealership on the northwest corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Howe Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2016, and an opening is scheduled for the second quarter of 2017.

Also in August, the company laid off 29 people in its corporate office. The grocer has announced four store closures so far this year. After those closures, it will have 123 stores.

The company still aims to “enhance current locations and build new stores that showcase our vision of infusing life with health and happiness,” according to Minor.