New Jewel-Osco grocery store to open in Woodlawn next year

Fresh on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of future upgrades headed to Woodlawn’s Cottage Grove CTA Green Line station, the City of Chicago and Jewel-Osco have revealed a plan to bring a new grocery store to the South Side community. First reported last night by the Chicago Sun-Times ahead of today’s official media release, the 40,000-square-foot supermarket would replace a large parcel of vacant land at the northwest corner of 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.

The planned Jewel-Osco hopes to eliminate a food desert—a popularized term used to describe an area with limited access to fresh, healthy produce. Since the issue became a key point of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s agenda, new grocery stores have also opened in the Englewood and Bronzeville communities. Currently, Woodlawn is served primarily by a single Aldi store located at 6621 S. Cottage Grove.

Google Street View

In addition to providing a vital retail service, the Woodlawn development is expected to add roughly 200 jobs to the area. The plan also calls for a pharmacy with a drive-through lane as well as on-site parking for 180 vehicles.

Expected to open in late 2018, the store would join a number of nearby private and public developments including the mixed-income, transit-oriented Woodlawn Station development located just two blocks to the south. With the upcoming Obama Presidential Center headed to Jackson Park, momentum continues to mount in Woodlawn.

City of Chicago

• Like Englewood, Bronzeville, Woodlawn gets new grocer: Jewel-Osco [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Upgraded CTA station, affordable TOD headed to Chicago’s Woodlawn [Curbed Chicago]