DALLAS — Plans for a Central Market in a long-vacant grocery store in Uptown are moving forward, the company announced Friday.
Developers broke ground on a mixed-use development to be anchored by a Central Market at McKinney and Lemmon Avenues in Uptown in 2022 but construction on the store in the former Albertsons space has been on hold since 2023, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
Earlier plans for the site called for a $295 million mixed-use development with office and multi-family space with construction on the grocery store expected to have started in April of 2022.
Central Market, which has had designs on the site since 2016, Friday released plans for the design of a standalone store. They blame “a softer post-COVID commercial market” for the hold on the project.
Central Market says they expect construction to start in 2025 and for the work to involve a complete renovation of the existing building. The timeline for the groundbreaking wasn't immediately available but plans for the store include expanded parking on two levels, a cooking school, and a stage for live music in the cafe area.
“The Central Market team is dedicated to creating an exceptional food destination for Uptown residents, and we are excited to share our preliminary plans. We hope to start construction as soon as possible on this much-anticipated store for our loyal customers and new neighborhood friends,” said Stephen Butt, president of Central Market and H-E-B Shareholder Relations. “Uptown is a vibrant, walkable area, and we look forward to collaborating with neighborhood groups and city officials to creatively transform this important location We appreciate the patience from our friends, neighbors and future shoppers as we move forward.”
Plans for the mixed-use development project, which was previously reported to include office and multi-family space, have changed since they were first announced in 2018.
The Dallas Business Journal reported that developer KDC scrapped plans in 2021 for an office tower and hotel at the site and instead opted to nearly double the amount of planned apartments.
Central Market is owned by H-E-B, which operates more than 435 stores in Texas and Mexico