United Supermarkets’ third Market Street location in Lubbock, Texas will anchor a major redevelopment effort in the city. The store will be comparable in size to the city’s two other Market Street locations, but with innovations in design and service concepts. Plans also call for construction of a United Express fuel and convenience store near the southwest corner of the intersection furthering the grocer’s commitment to building more convenience stores.
“This is the second phase of our three-year plan for Lubbock,” said Robert Taylor, CEO of United Supermarkets LLC. “This does not impact our commitment to putting a full-size store on our 4th and Milwaukee property, but we do anticipate the store at 19th and Quaker will be built first.”
United recently opened its first United Express fuel and convenience store on the southeast corner of 4th and Milwaukee, which it owns. The company’s strategic plan includes construction of a United Supermarkets location at that site within three years.
The redevelopment project is under the direction of Tao Development Group’s CEO, Clayton Isom. Demolition of existing structures at the site — ncluding several apartment complexes — is already underway. Two others businesses on the property which are still operational, 7-Eleven and Racer Classic Car Wash, will close by the end of the year, Isom said. The building previously occupied their will be demolished.
The storm-water catchment area on the site will be retained. “We are working with TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) to make it a feature of the property. Doug Eichorst and his staff at TxDOT have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition,” Isom said.
To help traffic flow, the site will be accessible from all four directions.
“Our team has worked on this redevelopment for almost two years, and we are proud to have such a great local company like United as the crown jewel,” Isom said. “A project of this magnitude only comes together when the table is surrounded by good, honest people, and United is the example of a good, honest company. Our company could not possibly be more excited right now.”
The redevelopment also includes 23,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space adjacent to United Express, plus a complete remodel of the property across the street, which previously housed Hollywood Video.
“Our company’s first priority for this project was to finalize the major anchor, which is now complete. At this point, we are aggressively seeking two junior anchor restaurants for both corners of the 19th and Quaker intersection,” Isom said. “For many different reasons, Lubbock is a great place to live; we hope that this redevelopment will make it that much better.”
For more on United Supermarkets’ convenience store expansion see the June issue of Convenience Store Decisions.