It is less than 100 yards away from the City of Bridgeport and it is a business utilized by many in the city, Harrison County and beyond. And sometime in 2021, it will begin serving those individuals in its new location.

 

Work on a new Kroger at the Eastpointe Shopping Plaza in Clarksburg is moving ahead at full steam despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Kroger will replace the existing business in the same plaza that is generally swamped with customers.

 

The new location, as many know, is on the site of the former Kmart that was the first retail store located at Eastpointe. The Kmart store announced in January of 2018 it was closing and it officially shut its doors several months later.

 

Earlier this year, developers purchased the site. The former building was demolished to make way for the new Kroger. And the new Kroger is one of the most significant development projects in the City of Clarksburg.

 

According to Dominique Spatafore, the City of Clarksburg’s marketing and community relations specialist, the project is in the eight-figure range. The building permit, she said, was issued with a cost of $10,522,000. 

 

The contractor for the project is Collins and Arnold Construction Company. They are located out of Atlanta, Ga.

 

“This is huge for Clarksburg that Kroger has not only decided to invest that much into our city but decided to locate its new building in Clarksburg. Losing that would have been a blow to our city,” said Clarksburg Vice Mayor Jimmy Marino. “When you’re landlocked as a city pretty much and don’t have a lot of land for new development, keeping what you have and seeing reinvestment is a big deal.”

 

Marino pointed out how critical Eastpointe Plaza, as well as NewPointe, is to the city.

 

“A significant portion of our revenue comes from there,” said Marino. “It draws people not only from Clarksburg, but from Bridgeport Harrison County and all over. You have people coming north and south on Interstate 79 and east and west on Route 50. That intersection location is certainly good for business.”

 

Marino said he was not sure on an exact opening date, but said he is looking at 2021. He said it will be one of the bigger Kroger stores in the area with all the modern features.

 

Editor's Note: Photos above and in the gallery below are from recent construction activity on the site. Photos by Ben Queen of Ben Queen Photography.