Lidl Seeking $9.5M from Pennsylvania for Six Stores
PENNSYLVANIA - Germany-based discount grocer Lidl is continuing to gain ground in the U.S. market, and its latest target for expansion appears to be the state of Pennsylvania and the City of Brotherly Love; the company is reportedly seeking a combined $9.5 million in state redevelopment grants—including funds earmarked for a previously undisclosed store potentially opening in Northeast Philadelphia.
According to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Lidl—which first entered the U.S. in the summer of 2017—has filed a number of applications with Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funding; the company’s applications include $2 million requests for each of the three stores that it wants to build in Philadelphia, according to the Pennsylvania Budget Office.
The company has already confirmed plans to build on locations at South Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia and on Butler Street near Aramingo Avenue in Port Richmond, but the applications suggest that a third store on Roosevelt Boulevard—in the 19114 zip code somewhere between Welsh and Red Lion Roads.
The requested $2 million for the project is to cover, the news source reports, “the expected amount of costs to remediate the land and remove the structure on the site,” Christopher Allen, a Senior Manager with Lidl’s U.S. operation, wrote in the application. Allen also notes: “The site is over budget, which may terminate the project.”
Lidl first entered the Keystone State in December of last year.
Does Lidl US’s expansion in Philadelphia signal a change in tack after the retailer announced a new President and CEO and a new Chairman of its U.S. operations last year? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
