Furniture City opening confuses picture for grocery coming to Plaza Del Mercardo

As grand openings go, Furniture City’s launch in Plaza Del Mercado wasn’t.

The discount store opened in the northern Silver Spring strip mall last month, filling the vacant space where residents have been lobbying for a grocery to replace the Giant Food that closed in 2011. Aside from a few people standing on nearby corners with cardboard signs announcing Furniture City’s presence, little effort was made to draw anyone’s attention.

In fact, even though the store occupies the anchor spot in the 96,000-square-foot mall, it doesn’t even rate mention on the marquee street sign. 

There’s just a big blank space next to CVS, where Giant used to be until it closed after 41 years.

But Furniture City’s presence raises questions about when or whether another grocery store will open in Del Mercado, which is a five-minute ride from the Intercounty Connector to the north and the Glenmont Metro to the south. The mall’s owner, Rockville-based Federal Realty Investment Trust, isn’t saying, at least not publicly for the record.

The firm would neither confirm nor deny information from Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro’s office that the mall will be expanded and letters of intent have been signed for a new grocery and a fitness center to occupy the space.

Robin McBride, Federal Realty’s mid-Atlantic vice president and chief operating officer, carefully avoided saying anything concrete in the following email message.

“We have been working closely with Councilwoman Navarro’s office over the past several months on various aspects of improving the tenancy and look of the center. We are excited about the future of the center and how it can serve the surrounding community as we continue conversations with multiple tenant prospects and the county.

Unfortunately we are not in a position at this time to share specific details regarding any development or leasing activity at Plaza del Mercado. Nor can we confirm that any of the information that has been shared in the public realm will result in new tenants or expansions.  As I am sure you can understand, our conversations are on-going and continually evolving with the county. We would not want to share information at this juncture only to have it change.

As a general policy and to protect our tenant's privacy, we cannot comment on on-going lease conversations or tenant leases.” 

Specifically, McBride did not comment on whether Furniture City is on a month-to-month lease, as Ken Silverman, Navarro’s senior legislative aide, said in the following email.

“We have been working closely with Federal Realty to revitalize Plaza del Mercado ever since the Giant closed. After originally saying that they could not find a grocery tenant for the center, I can confirm that they are now planning to renovate the center and have LOI's [letters of intent] with a new supermarket and health club as anchor tenants. They have asked us not to reveal the name of the supermarket because they are still finalizing the lease negotiations. My understanding is that the renovations could get underway as soon as this fall. The furniture store is a temporary, month-to-month tenant that will be replaced when the renovation plan goes into place.”

Navarro’s office has been even more detailed in the past, according to Glenmont Exchange, which reported that Aldi, a discount German grocery chain, will be the new Del Mercado anchor tenant.

The citizens group has reported that Federal Realty “plans to make an announcement soon regarding an Aldi and LA Fitness. In addition, Federal Realty plans on doing a major renovation of the shopping center. There was a hold-up because Starbucks [which has a shop in the mall] has a clause in their contract regarding stores that sell coffee in the same shopping center. This issue has been resolved and as soon as a finalized amended contract with Starbucks can be completed Aldi will be able to move forward. This information was obtained from the office of Councilmember Nancy Navarro.” http://www.glenmontexchange.org/News/Plaza.htm

Of course, Aldi had nothing to say either. Responding to a Facebook inquiry, the firm said only, "We are expanding in many markets and as location decisions are made, we’ll be sharing them with our ALDI fans. Please visit our Grand Openings tab from a desktop computer or internet browser here: http://on.fb.me/1gXFoym to find the ALDI store closest to you and to see a list of our upcoming Grand Openings!"

Federal Realty’s reticence on the matter might reflect the firm’s unsettled plans. The Montgomery County Planning Board in 2006 approved plans to add 29,000 square feet to the mall, which would have allowed Giant to more than double in size to 64,175 square feet, including 10,000 square feet of mezzanine office space.

Instead, Ahold, Giant’s Dutch corporate parent, closed the store as part of a move to shutter underperforming locations. Since then, the 25,000-square-foot space has been occupied by a series of short-term users, including a furniture and mattress store, a seasonal Halloween store, and now, another furniture and mattress store.

Even Federal Realty’s own Del Mercado marketing materials offer little but uncertainty. The firm’s online listing brochure shows Furniture City in the site plan rendering as the anchor tenant even though Giant is prominently displayed in the photos.  http://www.federalrealty.com/media/property_documents/Plaza_del_Mercado_Brochure.pdf

But if you really are looking for a sign of faith in Del Mercado’s grocery future, take a look at the county Planning Department’s 2014 development pipeline released in January. There’s Del Mercado, listed with plans for a 29,043-square-foot addition, including 73 unbuilt retail jobs.  http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/research/data_library/development_activity_data_center/documents/Jan2014Pipeline_RecordLevel.pdf