FORT WORTH, Texas (Nov. 10, 2009) – Hillwood and Kroger have completed a deal that will bring the first Kroger Marketplace to Tarrant County. It also will be the company’s fourth Kroger Marketplace in Texas behind the opening of two stores in the Greater Houston area and the impending opening of the Frisco, Texas location in January. The Tarrant County store, which is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2010, will be located at the southwest corner of Heritage Trace Parkway and Riverside Drive at Alliance Town Center in Fort Worth.
“The residential growth at Heritage and the other nearby communities, as well as the employment growth at Alliance, make Alliance Town Center the ideal location for the first of our new Kroger Marketplace concept stores in Tarrant County,” said Gary Huddleston, director of consumer affairs for Kroger. “This new concept has worked well in other markets, particularly in suburban locations as a one-stop shopping solution.”
The 123,000-square-foot store will offer features unique to a Kroger Signature store along with an expanded variety of grocery and deli products, a large floral section, fuel center, gourmet and chef-prepared foods, and a wine shop. The store will have linens for the bathroom and other areas of the home, a kitchen place area with upscale kitchenware and place settings, and the latest toys. The Nature’s Market section will offer all-natural and organic products and the drive-through pharmacy will provide consumers with $4 generic drugs. The Kroger Marketplace will also feature a Fred Meyer Jeweler store, as well as a large home-furnishing section with Ashley Brand furniture.
“Since Hillwood began developing Alliance Town Center, we have been looking for the right grocery store to meet the needs of our adjacent Heritage residential community and the nearby neighborhoods,” said Mark Miller, vice president of retail development for Hillwood Properties, the developer of AllianceTexas. “Kroger Marketplace is the perfect fit, because it offers a one-stop shop for a wide variety of high-quality groceries, deli, meat and produce, as well as a more convenient and cost effective place to purchase many of the other products needed by homeowners.”
A joint development of Trademark and Hillwood, Alliance Town Center is located in north Fort Worth along the east side of Interstate 35W between North Tarrant Parkway and Heritage Trace Parkway. The 300-acre development is in the middle of one of the fastest growing areas in the nation over the past decade.
Many of the retailers at Alliance Town Center have already reached sales levels that are among the best of their respective companies. Sam Moon Trading Company, the renowned seller of women’s fashion accessories and handbags, had the best first month’s sales in its chain’s history at its new 168,446 square-foot store, which opened at Alliance Town Center on May 8. JCPenney, which was the first retailer to open at Alliance Town Center in October 2006, earned the company’s top honor for sales and customer service in 2007 and 2008.
Currently under construction at Alliance Town Center are new locations for Rooms To Go and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Freebirds World Burrito and Kirkland’s also will open soon.
More than 20 retailers occupy more than 600,000 square feet at Alliance Town Center. In addition to Kroger, JCPenney and Sam Moon, retailers include Bank of Texas, Belk, Best Buy, Cheddar’s, Dress Barn, Eye Masters, Hobby Lobby, Jason’s Deli, Justice, Kincaid’s, Mattress Firm, McDonald’s, PetSmart, Rack Room, Rue 21, Smoothie King, Sports Clips, Ulta, Wells Fargo, and Which Wich.
At full buildout Alliance Town Center will house more than 2 million square feet of retail, office, residential, and entertainment space, along with the HCA medical campus.
Alliance Town Center is part of the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas development that also includes the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, the corporate campuses and golf courses of Circle T Ranch, the Monterra Village apartment home community and the single-family communities of Heritage, Saratoga and Vaquero. AllianceTexas houses more than 7,200 single-family homes and 220 companies that have built more than 31 million square feet and created 28,000 jobs.
About Kroger
The Kroger Southwest Division operates 209 stores and 86 fuel centers in Texas and Louisiana and is part of one of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains serving customers in 31 states. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the supermarket retailer is dedicated to making a difference in the communities it serves by supporting hunger relief, education, women’s health and wellness, and diversity programs. For more information about Kroger, please visit http://www.kroger.com/.
About Hillwood
Hillwood, A Perot Company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate developers in the country and the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. The company is recognized for its high-profile and public-private ventures that bring tremendous value to its customers and partners. In addition to AllianceTexas, Hillwood is best known for its development of the $420-million American Airlines Center and Victory district near downtown Dallas and the 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia development near Los Angeles.
About Trademark
Founded in 1991, Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. (http://www.trademarkproperty.com/) has developed or acquired nearly $1 Billion worth of retail and mixed-use space. Trademark has become one of the premier outdoor retail and mixed-use developers in the country. Other notable Texas projects include Market Street – The Woodlands, and Watters Creek, a 1 million s.f. mixed-use development under construction in Allen, TX.