Rose Garden Resident

News

Deal is signed for newTrader Joe's to open soon in the MarketCenter

By Mary Gottschalk

The proposed Whole Foods market at the corner of The Alameda and Stockton Avenue isn't expected to open until 2008, but Rose Garden area shoppers may have a Trader Joe's within a few months.

Dennis Korabiak, downtown coordinator for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, says a deal has been signed to bring a Trader Joe's to the new San Jose MarketCenter development on Coleman Avenue.

Korabiak says he hasn't seen the plans yet, but he expects them to be finished and submitted for approval within the next few weeks.

Construction of a 12,000-square-foot store could begin in late September or early October, with completion by spring 2007.

"We're happy to be able to make this agreement with Trader Joe's," says Matt Gove, vice president of corporate communications for Cousins Properties, developer and owner of the MarketCenter.

"Trader Joe's is an outstanding grocer, and we're very excited to be able to have them at our center. It adds a lot to the mix of retailers we already have there," Gove says.

In June, the San Jose City Council approved a 10-year, $1.7 million subsidy to Cousins to lure a grocery store to the complex and to open it by November 2007.

Whole Foods is not receiving any city or redevelopment money. It is entirely privately financed.