Aldi is expected to open a new location in Penn Daw’s South Alex development later this year.
The development by Combined Properties includes 41 townhouses, 400 apartments with ground-floor retail, and the grocery store.
“We are excited to share we plan to open a new Aldi store later this year in Fairfax County,” Jeff Baehr, Aldi’s Vice President of the company’s Frederick Division, said in a statement.
South Alex is located at the intersection of North Kings Highway and Richmond Highway. The area already has a grocery store on Richmond Highway near Hybla Valley.
The project has been on the drawing board for several years after the demolition of the 50-year-old Penn Daw Shopping Center in 2016. A previous deal for a grocer fell through that year after The Fresh Market failed to reach an agreement with the development company.
ALDI, which is a German multinational discount supermarket chain, firmed up plans to open at the development in 2018.
The project is part of a plan to revitalize the area with mixed-use projects and transit-oriented developments. Overall, up to 45,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is planned on the site — 20,000 of which is taken up by the Aldi lease.
