WinCo Foods has acquired 27.66 acres along Stacey Allison Way in Woodburn, Oregon, paying $13.61 million for the land as it moves ahead with plans for an 84,000-square-foot grocery store. The purchase, made from seller Capital Development, works out to roughly $491,990 per acre and marks a major step toward adding a grocery store in a city with limited grocery choices.
The deal was reported by CoStar, which detailed the size and price of the land parcel. But the sale caps a longer municipal process: in July, the Woodburn City Council voted 6-0 to reject a community appeal and affirm the planning commission's approval of the project, clearing the way for the site's design and variances, according to the Woodburn Independent.
A State Appeal Could Still Slow Things Down
Despite the purchase and the council's affirmation, the project isn't fully in the clear. A local opposition group called Protect Our Valley Alliance escalated its fight in late September by appealing Woodburn's approval to Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA, per Citizen Portal. The same outlet reports that the appeal record had been filed by September, with a briefing schedule expected sometime this autumn.
WinCo's application covered just under 11 acres and required city variances for lighting and signage, along with a street adjustment for cross-sections, to assemble the retail lot footprint. Neighborhood residents who testified against the project during the local approval process raised concerns about noise and increased traffic, the Woodburn Independent reported. The site is near Cascade Meadow Apartments and other residential properties.
Why WinCo Picked a Spot Across the Freeway From Its Woodburn Distribution Center
The new store site sits against Interstate 5, near WinCo's distribution center on Woodland Avenue in Woodburn. That existing presence helps explain why the company chose Woodburn for its newest retail location rather than starting from scratch elsewhere in the region.
Woodburn residents have limited grocery choices, the Woodburn Independent has reported. The closest WinCo store to the company's Woodburn distribution center is the Keizer Waremart by WinCo. The Stacey Allison Way parcel also places WinCo south of Walmart.
A Fast-Growing City Fuels the Demand
Woodburn has a population of 30,449. The WinCo project is part of commercial development along the I-5 corridor, even as it works through its legal hurdles.
WinCo Foods also operates a distribution center in Woodburn.
The Woodburn store proposal arrives amid a broader stretch of development news in the city. Hoodline has reported separately on Woodburn's 120-day data center pause and on a rail terminal plan aimed at easing farm export bottlenecks in the city, both signs of a community grappling with rapid growth alongside new infrastructure and retail pressure.
