PORTLAND, Ore. -- A mammoth Eastside mixed-use project has landed one of the city's most-anticipated retailers.
Green Zebra Grocery will serve as the anchor tenant for Hassalo on Eighth, a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project near Lloyd Center.
The 8,203-square-foot store, which specializes in sustainably sourced fresh and organic products, will open on Northeast Multnomah Street, between 7th and 9th avenues, in early 2016.
Hassalo on Eighth began pre-leasing apartments in the 657-unit, three-building development in April. It plans a formal opening in September 2015.
The strategy seemingly differs from what Green Zebra founder Lisa Sedlar had originally set out to do: The former New Seasons CEO started the business as a way to bring fresh and healthy foods to neighborhoods in a convenience store format.
But in announcing the arrangement, Sedlar and John Chamberlain, CEO of Hassalo on Eighth owner American Assets Trust Inc., said that Hassalo on Eighth is effectively "Portland's newest neighborhood."
"Green Zebra is the perfect addition for our new development, and will quickly become a favorite shopping destination for the local residents and office workers in the Lloyd District," Chamberlain said in a release.
The company has so far opened one location, a 5,600-square-foot Kenton locale on North Lombard Street. Plans to open a store in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood were scuttled while a Southeast Division Street location, adorned with Green Zebra signs, has sat idle for two years.
"We love the Lloyd neighborhood and we're super enthusiastic about the opportunity to bring healthy, local, organic foods to eaters in the neighborhood," Sedlar said in a release. "In addition to serving the residents of Hassalo on Eighth and the Lloyd District, our small format store will be convenient for our neighbors in Sullivan's Gulch, Irvington, and the Central Eastside, as well as the thousands of folks who work in the neighborhood."
Sedlar estimated that half of the store's customers will reach the store on foot, by bike or by public transportation."
Green Zebra Grocery closed a $2.5 million funding round on Circle Up, a crowdfunding site for accredited investors.
The owner of Hassalo on Eighth, American Assets Trust (NYSE: AAT), is a San Diego-based real estate investment firm that owns several buildings in the Lloyd District as well as downtown Portland's First & Main tower.
The store will employ nearly 50 people, with a minimum wage of $11.10 an hour and health insurance available to the workers.
Sedlar said the Division store is still very much on tap.
"There are some moving pieces on that project and we hope to have a more substantive update very soon. We've heard from our neighbors in Southeast Portland that they are eager for us to be there, and we're very grateful for their support and patience."
The LEED-Platinum Hassalo on Eighth consists of three buildings: Velomor, a six-story building featuring 177 apartments and retail space on the ground floor,. the 21-story Aster Tower and the five-story Elwood Building.
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
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