Yes, It's True

Not much time for this rumor to run around, but it turns out to be true; the Albertson's at Lakeview Village is closing. The AZ Republic has a very brief article mentioning this:

Two Gilbert stores are among the five Southeast Valley Albertsons-Osco stores that will close in about two months as the company plans to concentrate on its remaining stores.

The closures will leave some strip centers without their anchors and includes a store opened two years ago, the Albertsons at Elliot and Higley roads in Gilbert. The other Gilbert Albertsons that will close is at Ray and Cooper roads.

Albertsons came under new ownership Friday and announced Tuesday that it will close nine underperforming stores in the Phoenix area in early August.

The chain was acquired by Supervalu Inc., which is now the third-largest supermarket chain by revenue.

The remainder of the article talks about other stores in Chandler, and the fact that there will still be 51 other Albertson's in Arizona.

So, of course the question looms large; what will happen to the space that is now the store at Lakeview Village? The honest answer from our office is that we don't know. There are several possibilities, and I'll enumerate a few while stressing that we don't know which direction it will go.

One possibility, the worst in my mind, is that the company will just keep paying the lease and leave the building empty, much like the center at Val Vista and Guadalupe.

Another possibility is that the company will sell the lease to another grocer, and a different store would move in.

Another possibility is that the company would sell the building back to the shopping center partners, of which we are one, and then that partnership would re-lease the space.

Whichever way it goes, we are left with the sad truth that the maneuvering will take some time, probably a year. The gas station, which was one of the highest performing in the state, will be missed, no doubt. The good news is that with Lakeview Trails North being built right behind, and the freeway access to the new Santan and to the 60, that center becomes even more valuable in the commercial world. We may not have much control over Albertson's decisions, but we do have high hopes for the future of Lakeview Village and won't stop trying to realize those hopes.