New Seasons Market announced this month it will open a new location in Milwaukie, filling the grocery space in the city’s shopping mall that has been vacant since 2015.

For nearly seven years, downtown Milwaukie has met the USDA definition of a “food desert,” since the area is more than 1 mile from the nearest grocery store.

“To say this is exciting news would be a huge understatement,” said Mayor Mark Gamba. “We’re very happy New Seasons is coming to Milwaukie and eliminating a food desert in our community. As a certified B Corporation, and a company committed to sustainability and providing a living wage to its employees, New Seasons embodies fundamental values that are essential to us.”

New Seasons’ store is anticipated to open in fall 2023, over a year later than previously announced by city officials when they excited citizens with the release a Dec. 20 social media statement saying they expected a grocery tenant to open “sometime in summer 2022.”

New Seasons’ announcement provides hope for a turn-around for Milwaukie’s shopping center that has struggled to keep tenants since closure of its largest space that had been set aside for a grocery store at the corner of Highway 224, 10830 S.E. Oak St. The 16-acre Milwaukie Marketplace property is owned by an affiliate of Kimco Realty.

“As New Seasons Market continues to thoughtfully grow our community, Milwaukie is a natural choice for a new neighborhood market,” said Nancy Lebold, chief executive officer of New Seasons Market. “We’re thrilled to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood and connect the community to the best organic and locally sourced produce, meat and grocery staples.”

In community surveys since 2016, a grocery store ranked as a top priority for residents, business owners and property owners. Milwaukie City Council and city staff have actively recruited grocery stores to fill the space.

“This has been a multi-year effort for the city as it strived to support our Milwaukie Marketplace property owners and commercial brokers, while also endeavoring to market the space on its own,” said Joseph Briglio, the city’s community development director. “This commercial area is a vital asset in our community, but it’s been underutilized. Having a partner like New Seasons invest and expand in Milwaukie should help provide the spark this shopping center has needed for quite some time.”

New Seasons officials say their 28,000-square-foot store will create over 100 competitively paid jobs in the neighborhood, and support the regional food economy by connecting customers to local producers and their products:

• Local and organic produce sourced directly from Pacific Northwest farmers

• Full-service meat and seafood department with ready-to-cook house recipes

• Chef-prepared seasonal deli options

• Organic, local and everyday grocery staples and bulk foods

• Local craft beer, cider and wine, artisan cheeses, and sweet and savory baked goods

• Full-service floral department, high quality wellness items, and handmade home goods and gifts by local artisans

“Kimco is delighted to soon welcome New Seasons Market grocery store to our Milwaukie Marketplace,” said Kristina Burmeister, director of real estate at Kimco. “Our center’s customers will be excited to have a place to shop and gather, just around the corner, at this this very special market in Milwaukie.”

With the nearby Monroe Apartments currently under construction, with a projected 2023 completion, New Seasons Market is expected to help fill the needs of the future tenants living in the 238-unit multi-family development.

Following the grocery store’s exit, Milwaukie Marketplace then lost a Payless Shoes, Hallmark card shop, pet store and martial-arts studio.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the marketplace lost two other longtime tenants, McGrath’s Fish House in 2020 and the Salvation Army Thrift Store in July 2021. Then there’s the impending closure of Joann Fabric and Crafts, which has a 13,775-square-foot space that will be vacated by April. Joann’s closure will leave 103,834 square feet vacant of the marketplace’s total of 185,760 square feet.