WinCo Foods to Anchor Centralia Station

WinCo Foods will expand its presence in Washington state as the anchor tenant of the Centralia Station development, the Port of Centralia announced. Construction of the new store is set to begin in 2020 with an anticipated opening of 2021.

The Boise, Idaho-based grocer is not the first to eye the location. Fred Meyer of Portland, Ore., had originally signed on as the project’s anchor tenant.

In December 2018, Fred Meyer announced it would not move forward with its 175,000-square-foot flagship store planned for the location, citing a combination of uncertainty of infrastructure completion, market conditions and cost increases related to timing.

Centralia Station is a development near the Interstate 5 interchange at Mellen Street. Last year, local lawmakers helped secure $3.1 million from the state’s transportation budget for improvements at the Centralia Station property, known as the I-5/Mellen Street Connector Project.

“The Port continues to move forward toward developing Centralia Station, and we are excited to have WinCo choose Centralia,” Port of Centralia Commission President Julie Shaffley said in a release. “We know the community has been wanting WinCo Foods for a long time, and we are happy to help deliver.”

Shaffley also acknowledged Powell Development Co., the Port’s partner on Centralia Station since 2017, for its role in bringing WinCo aboard. Powell Development is a development and property management firm based in Bellevue, Wash.

Along with WinCo, Centralia Station is expected to feature additional shops, restaurants, offices and other businesses.

WinCo Foods Inc., a privately held, majority employee-owned American supermarket chain, has 128 retail stores, 19 of which are in Washington.