We nearly started a riot a few months ago when we passed along the rumor that the buildings on the north side of the 400 block of Bainbridge would be torn down and replaced with Trader Joe’s. Alas, the owner of the property reached out shortly afterward and shared the disappointing news that there was no deal with Trader Joe’s. Bummer. Still, we were confident that something was happening here, because several businesses were moving out of their retail spaces at the same time. Sure enough, the other shoe dropped a few weeks ago as the buildings were all posted with demolition notices.

In an effort to learn more about the upcoming project, we reached out to the chair of the QVNA zoning committee. They were kind enough to get back to us, letting us know that the owner of the property made an informational presentation to Queen Village Neighbors Association and South Street Headhouse District back in September. At the meeting, they shared preliminary plans for a multi-story building with parking and apartments, with two large retailers on the first floor and in the basement. The owner didn’t specify the retail tenant, giving us a sense that they’re playing this info close to the vest or there was no signed lease back in September.

When all is said and done, this project will have a footprint that’s larger than 30K sqft, so this will be one of the most significant new projects in this area in recent memory. Unfortunately, we don’t see any permits as of yet, so we’re still unclear as to what will ultimately rise here. According to the representative from QVNA, the project is expected to go through the zoning process and will return to the community with more concrete plans. That’ll be in January, at the earliest. ‘Til then, we’ll just have to keep wondering… how they’re going to fit a Wegmans on such a small property.