A new 38,000 square foot Save-On-Foods will be the latest addition to Calgary’s University District development plans. It will be Save-On-Food’s sixth store in the city.

Save-On-Foods is joining University District as one of the major anchor tenants and part of the first mixed-used development block within the project. The store will be topped with 288 units of housing built by Gracorp Capital Advisors Ltd.

“We are excited for Save-On-Foods to be a part of University District,” says James Robertson, West Campus Development Trust’s president and CEO. “It is a natural fit and the company shares common principles about lifestyle with our vision for the community.”

The Trust has focused on serving Northwest Calgary with a collaborative, people-first design process, resulting in the master-planned urban community.

Save-On-Foods president Darrell Jones says, “We are excited to start customizing this location for the urban Northwest communities and to be a part of this unique, lively development that goes the extra mile for its future residents. We’re more than a grocery retailer; we want to be considered as a community member and good neighbour.”

Nine additional retailers will be part of the grocery store block, and have been carefully chosen to meet a host of community needs and interests including a neighbourhood coffee shop, specialty restaurant, pet store and wine merchant.

Similar to the University District planning approach, townhalls will be held prior to starting the development to learn what piques residents’ interests and what they are hoping to see in the new grocery store. Dates for the townhalls will be announced in the coming months.

Officials anticipate breaking ground at the end of 2017 and opening in 2020, shortly after residents move in.