By Mary Thurwachter
With construction nearly complete, an Aldi grocery store is set to open in a month at Water Tower Commons. It will be the development’s first retail store and is one of 100 Aldis opening this year across the country.
“We are excited to announce our Lantana store will be opening this December,” said Chris Hewitt, Royal Palm Beach division vice president for Aldi. “Our stores provide a consistent, streamlined and efficient shopping experience.”
The Lantana location will have approximately 12,000 square feet of retail space.
“At Aldi, we streamline our approach to staffing, creating cost-saving efficiencies that are passed on to our customers,” Hewitt said. “Each store, including our new Lantana store, will employ about 15 to 20 people.”
Caroline Shamsi-Basha, Lantana’s assistant development services director, said the grocery store has approved permits and appears to be moving along quickly. “Our department has conducted a number of inspections for the project during October,” she said.
Town officials and businesses are eager for the store’s opening.
“I am excited to have new businesses in our town,” said Vice Mayor Pro Tem Karen Lythgoe. “I like to shop at Aldi and it will be nice to have one close to home.”
Chamber of Commerce President Dave Arm, whose business, Lantana Fitness, is across the street from Water Tower Commons, said he too is excited about the opening.
“It can only help Water Tower Commons in their effort to fully lease their commercial space in this difficult retail environment,” Arm said. “And, as a business owner, the addition of a major new store in the neighborhood can only help all of the shops on the road.”
The Town Council voted in 2019 to allow Aldi, as well as a Wawa filling station, for the development. The grocery store is to the north of the proposed filling station site, near the entrance to the development from Andrew Redding Road. Ground has yet to be broken for the Wawa.
Water Tower Commons, a 73-acre retail and residential project east of Interstate 95 on Lantana Road, has been in the works since 2014. That’s when Lantana Development — a partnership between Wexford Capital and developer Ken Endelson’s Southeast Legacy — bought the site, formerly home to A.G. Holley State Hospital, for $15.6 million.
Although apartments have been built on the property, until now the retail portion has been stagnant since 2017. Aldi is being built by Oak Construction of Fort Lauderdale. Details of the grand opening will be revealed later.
Water Tower Commons was negotiating to bring a Walmart Neighborhood Market to the property in 2017, but that deal fell through.
The shopping center portion of the project, originally planned for 280,000 square feet, has been scaled back to 150,000 square feet, reflecting a substantial softening of the retail market.
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