After years of staring at a dark anchor box, Havertown shoppers are finally getting a new supermarket. Sprouts Farmers Market is moving into the long-empty anchor spot at Llanerch Shopping Center, taking over a grocery-sized storefront that Amazon built out but never opened. The Phoenix-based chain has signed a lease for roughly 29,500 square feet and plans to open the full-line anchor supermarket local residents have been waiting on. If the timing holds, it will be Sprouts’ first store in Delaware County and will end a years-long vacancy at the west-side shopping center.
As reported by Philadelphia Business Journal, Sprouts signed a lease for roughly 29,500 square feet at Llanerch Shopping Center, the same built-out footprint Amazon Fresh never opened. The outlet noted that Amazon had continued paying rent on the space for about five years even though the store never launched. The deal is one of several recent moves by grocers into suburban retail centers in the Philadelphia region.
Brandolini Companies, which owns the center, traces the long vacancy back to the departure of an LA Fitness and the later aborted Amazon plan. A Sprouts spokesperson told Patch the retailer expects to open in the first quarter of next year, and Brandolini president Fred Snow told the outlet, “We had no control over them because they were under lease and paying rent.” Once Amazon walked away, the landlord said, it finally opened the door to re-leasing talks that ended with Sprouts signing on.
Amazon's retreat opened the door
Amazon announced earlier this year that it would wind down its physical Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores as the company refocused on delivery and expanded Whole Foods offerings, according to a company statement. That corporate pivot left several built-out grocery shells across the country available for new tenants and created a rare leasing opportunity for landlords. The Llanerch site is one of those footprints now moving back into active retail use.
What the Llanerch deal means for the center
Brandolini's materials list Llanerch Shopping Center at 401 West Chester Pike and show the property totals about 41,151 square feet, with parking for roughly 250 vehicles. Patch reported the planned Sprouts footprint, about 29,462 to 29,500 square feet, would occupy more than 70 percent of the center's retail area. For the landlord, landing a full-line grocer is a quick way to reactivate surrounding storefronts and steady center traffic.
What shoppers should expect
Sprouts has been pursuing mid-sized suburban sites as part of an expansion strategy across the East Coast, a trend noted in industry coverage. ramping up store openings in multiple markets fits that playbook, and the Havertown location is very much in line with it. Neighbors can expect the center to show more activity as build-out and hiring move forward.
Sprouts and Brandolini have not released a formal grand-opening schedule beyond the general opening window, but the signed lease signals that the long-empty anchor is finally on its way back to life. This story will be updated as details on hiring, construction and a grand-opening date become available.
