With the sale of Safeway stores to Sobeys, it’s still unknown which label will adorn the grocery stores, including Vernon’s two.
“The two stores are part of the transaction,” confirms Andrew Walker, Sobeys’ vice-president of communications and corporate affairs.
Sobeys recently purchased Canada Safeway, and now the Vernon stores are part of an overall sale of 68 properties to Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust.
“There will be a grocery store there,” said Walker. “This is just a real estate transaction.”
Sobeys will lease the property from Crombie, but the companies are currently awaiting approval from the competition bureau before any decisions are made.
“After that we’ll start to look at the branding,” said Walker, expecting the acquisition process to wrap up later this year.
There are 29 properties in B.C., 27 in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan and nine in Manitoba involved in the transaction.
“The geographic location of these assets is highly complementary to our existing core portfolio, providing greater exposure to Western Canadian markets and solidifying Crombie’s position as a truly national retail landlord,” said Donald Clow, president of Nova Scotia-based Crombie REIT.
