Kroger buys vacant site at busy Bradenton intersection. It’s not clear what comes next
Supermarket giant Kroger has purchased the site of a former Albertson’s supermarket at 7415 Manatee Ave. W.
The $5,150,000 transaction closed Dec. 22, according to records filed with the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office. The seller was Los Angeles-based BRNK Bradenton LCC.
BRNK, the owners of the shopping plaza that was once anchored by Albertson’s, took the Kroger Company to court last May, asking for $5 million in a lawsuit alleging breach of contract.
The Albertson’s site was once slated to become a Lucky’s Market, but Lucky’s announced a year ago that it was shuttering all of its Florida stores and would not build the store in Bradenton.
The news came just one month after Cincinnati-based Kroger announced it intended to divest its stake in Lucky’s Market. By that time, the former Albertson’s building had already been demolished.
Kroger’s pull out came after Lucky’s and the plaza’s owners, BRNK Bradenton LLC, had already been reached an agreement on a long-term lease to build on the site.
Kroger did not immediately respond to the Herald’s request for comment on what it planned to do with its new property, located on the southeast corner of Manatee Avenue and 75th Street West.
A WaWa store was also announced in 2018 for the Albertson’s site, fronting onto Manatee Avenue. But to date, nothing more has been announced for those plans, and the proposed Bradenton store is listed nowhere on WaWa’s future locations web page.
On the north side of the same intersection, however, Target has confirmed that it plans to open a 49,000-square-foot store in a former Kmart.
Target has not announced a date for opening the Bradenton store, one of more than 40 new stores planned around the United States.
“As we get closer to opening the store, we’ll have more specific details to share – including how the shopping experience will be tailored to serve local guests and the grand opening date,” a spokeswoman for Target said in an email last September.
At a time when many major retailers are under increased stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Target has been announcing plans to open new stores.
Among the retailers filing bankruptcy in the last two years are Stein Mart, Tuesday Morning, J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, Stage Stores, Charlotte Russe and Payless Shoes.
