Trader Joe's: Germantown's most certain uncertainty

The arrival of Trader Joe's is rapidly becoming the most certain thing no one is certain of in Germantown.

Work on the project expected to house the much-anticipated grocery store took a step forward Monday night with approval of a development contract by the city's aldermen. No mention of Trader Joe's or any other specific tenant was made during the brief approval process, which was unanimous.

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However, project representative Blair Parker of Blair Parker Design afterward gave perhaps the closest thing yet to confirmation that Joe's is on the way.

"We don't really know as fact (that Trader Joe's is coming)," Parker said. "They haven't told us. I think I know, but I don't really know."

Parker noted that the grocery chain has a 2018 arrival date for Germantown on its website — "If it's not them (coming to the development), why haven't they taken it off their site?" He later tempered his remarks: "I'm not going to make that assumption. I've seen crazy things happen."

If Joe's is indeed on the way, tangible evidence may be just around the corner after Monday's action. Parker said a pre-construction conference could happen as early as Tuesday. 

A crew was in the emptied shell of the old Kroger building in the Germantown Collection center at 2130 Exeter on Monday working on the floor, but Parker said that wasn't part of renovation by the new property owner.

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"I had no idea they were in there," Parker said. "That was Kroger, who is actually cleaning out some things they're under contract to remove before these others take it over."

Once Kroger clears out and the new developer holds the pre-construction conference, the pace of work could pick up rapidly. 

"The new developer will come in with his different contractor, and they rip out a whole lot more," Parker said. "Typically what happens is that the new user will take it all the way to the ground, taking out the existing concrete."

He said work on the outside facade would get started shortly after the first of the year. 

Specifically, the development contract approved Monday night for 2130 Exeter Road Holdings LLC allows renovation of the existing 48,244 square feet of retail space and parking lot, along with construction of a separate 7,000-square-foot building.

The project only involves the northern portion of Germantown Collection, where Kroger was located before moving to a larger nearby site on Farmington across from City Hall. 

Germantown Planning Director Cameron Ross noted that the Exeter development has "gone through a few iterations," which have contributed to the uncertainty over Trader Joe's. The project changed developers, and California-based Trader Joe's seemed to be rethinking its options. 

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The date for a Germantown store moved from this year to 2018 on the chain's website, and a spokesperson at one point said that while a Germantown store was still envisioned, the chain was "exploring all site options."

If Trader Joe's does settle on the Exeter site, it will be only one of multiple tenants. The Kroger building is currently configured for three spaces, Parker said, and the new out parcel will have space for two tenants. 

"I don't who will be in any of them," Parker said, "but I'm anticipating a restaurant out along the Exeter side because there's a patio, so that would make sense. Back in the old Kroger building, it could be all sorts of things."

There's no question, though, that Trader Joe's is the possible tenant that most intrigues the public.

"I know," Parker said. "We get those questions in our office at least five or six times a week."