Current Conditions
37°F - CLEAR
(169) (38) (20) (8) (3) (3) (2)
The project, which will double the size of the store, is part of a $12 million overhaul of the Manheim Township strip center.
Giant expects the expansion, incorporating space now occupied by Berean Christian Stores and America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, to be completed in the second half of 2010.
"Our Lancaster Shopping Center customers deserve an up-to-date and more modern facility, and we're looking forward to giving them just that," said Giant spokeswoman Tracy Pawelski on Wednesday.
The store will stay open while the work is being done.
Giant's scheduling of the Lititz Pike store's expansion follows conditional approval of the plan in June by the township commissioners.
Giant will enlarge the store from 39,800 square feet to 75,000 square feet by filling the neighboring spaces and by extending the front of the store.
That extension, into what's now a traffic lane, will lead to the closing of the adjacent entrance/exit at Lititz Pike.
To compensate, shopping center owner Federal Realty will widen the entrances/exits at the southwest corner of the property, which also connects to Lititz Pike, and at the southeast corner, which connects to Oregon Pike.
Federal Realty also will give a facelift to the exterior of the rest of the strip's buildings and construct a stand-alone branch bank at the southeast corner of the property.
Carlisle-based Giant opened the Lititz Pike store in 1981 by remodeling a former Pantry Pride store.
It is the second smallest of Giant's eight supermarkets in the county, exceeding only the 39,600-square-foot Reservoir Street store, the chain's first store here, opening in 1979.
With the expansion, the Lititz Pike store will become one of Giant's largest here. Its 140-employee workforce also is expected grow, although the number of new jobs remains to be determined.
Giant has invested heavily in Lancaster County in recent years, trying to have a bigger presence in a highly competitive market, enlarging several stores and taking over a Redner's.
The company shows no sign of backing off. Besides the Lititz Pike project, it's proposing new stores in Mount Joy and East Cocalico Township.
It also has built its first Giant to Go at Fruitville Pike and Petersburg Road and is proposing another one here.
"We're local. This is an important market for us. We want to continue to deliver service and value to our Lancaster County customers, just like we've been doing for 30 years … ," Pawelski said. "We will continue to invest in Lancaster County."
Berean, meanwhile, is looking for a new site for its Lancaster store, formerly Provident Bookstore, though America's Best is likely to stay in the strip center.
America's Best spokeswoman Tanya Travers said Wednesday that the store is negotiating to move into a comparable-sized, vacant space several doors away, last occupied by Countrywide Home Loans.
Berean chief executive officer Bill Simmons could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But previously he has vowed to keep the store in the Lancaster area.
E-mail: tmekeel@lnpnews.com
