Market Basket seeks expansion of Londonderry store

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May 7, 2008

By Julio Tejeda

LONDONDERRY — Officials from the Market Basket supermarket will appear before the Planning Board on Wednesday, May 7, for a public hearing on their plans to put a 17,732-square-foot expansion on their Londonderry store.

According to Market Basket executive Jon Matthews, the expansion will allow the grocery giant to increase floor space in the store itself, allowing the store to expand its offerings to consumers.

"This expansion will bring this store up to the level of other Market Basket stores in the region," said Matthews.

The presented plan for expansion covers most of the current parking lot area of the location. According to Matthews, the stores will take over the space of an abutting vacant storefront, then will add onto the back of the store to "square-off" the facility.

Matthews did not give a target date to start construction as the plan still needs to get approval by the Planning Board.

According to Matthews, the store will remain open, even as construction is going on.

Market Basket has been expanding its family-owned business in recent years throughout eastern New England.

Dating back to October of last year, the company was seeking a $2 million tax break in a deal with West Gloucester, Mass, to open a new store.

The company promised to boost the local economy by creating 100 full-time jobs in the region and they would also absorb $1 million of the cost of extending the municipal sewer line to the site according to published reports.

Market Basket purchased its new warehouse located in Andover, Mass, back in August of 2004 for $20 million, adding a second warehouse to their company.

The company's biggest warehouse, located in Tewksbury, is 550,000-square-feet. The new warehouse, which is 450,000-square-feet, gives the company the luxury of having enough space for its trailers and product storage capacity.

The company is looking to expand its business with the recent openings of stores in Danvers, Tewksbury, and Reading, Mass.

In other business before the planning board:

rMichael Moore (Albride Estates) is submitting an application acceptance for the public hearing for a lot subdivision and conditional use permit.

The site plan of the submitted plan is across the intersection of Wilson and Auburn Road.

rWayland H. Elwood has a public hearing on the application acceptance for a two-lot subdivision.

The site plan is located in an enormous piece of land between Dan Hill and Elwood Road.