Developers announce lease signing with Lidl for a new supermarket in Park Slope

August 3, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The Lidl Store in Harlem, New York. Photo: Lidl Food Market

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Developers William Macklowe Company and Senlac Ridge Partners have announced a lease signing with Lidl for a new supermarket at 120 5th Ave. in Park Slope.

Community leaders hail Lidl’s first store in Brooklyn as a “win‐win-win”; New supermarket will offer groceries at affordable prices and fulfill community’s goal of securing a full‐scale neighborhood‐oriented grocer at convenient hub.

The William Macklowe Company and Senlac Ridge Partners—joint developers of a site at 120 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, formerly occupied by a Key Food supermarket and soon to be developed as a major residential and retail complex—announced today that they have signed a 25,000‐square‐foot lease with Lidl US to operate a new community supermarket as a centerpiece of the project. Lidl’s outstanding reputation for fresh, high‐quality food at affordable prices led to its ranking as a “Top 5 U.S. Grocer” in USA Today’s 2021 and 2022 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Billy Macklowe, CEO of William Macklowe Company, said, “In the course of our close collaboration with local civic leaders, their top priority consistently has been to bring a community‐oriented supermarket to the planned development to succeed the closed Key Food. That’s why we’re thrilled to be partnering with Lidl to deliver a new, full‐scale supermarket that offers a broad range of quality groceries at affordable prices. We’re eager to complete construction of our residential and retail development and expect that the new supermarket will open in 2024.”

The inside of Lidl’s Harlem Supermarket. Photo: Lidl Food Market

Once completed, the 180‐unit residential rental development will include 45 affordable housing units and approximately 67,000 square feet of retail/commercial space as well as a parking garage.

“We’re thrilled to be planting our roots in Park Slope and are excited to introduce our new neighbors to Lidl’s simple, affordable and highly-awarded approach to grocery,” said Or Raitses, Senior Director of Real Estate for Lidl in New York. “Great people make the Lidl experience possible every day and as our Park Slope project progresses, we look forward to reaching out to neighbors and local community non-profits to support the hiring of an outstanding team for our customers at Lidl Park Slope.”

Lidl will bring dozens of jobs to the area with a leading wages and benefits package, including healthcare for all full‐ and part‐time employees regardless of the number of hours worked per week.

Based in Arlington, Virginia, Lidl operates more than 170 stores on the East Coast, with 25 in New York State. In New York City, Lidl operates stores in Staten Island, Harlem and Astoria, Queens.

The new Lidl supermarket in Park Slope will fully adhere to the provisions of a Cooperation/Community Benefits Agreement executed by the owners of 120 5th Avenue and the Community Stakeholder Group, comprised of ten leading local civic organizations*, in 2017.

“The selection of Lidl is a win for our community that would not have been possible without the advocacy of the Community Stakeholder Group (CSG),” said City Councilmember Shahana Hanif. “In 2016, the CSG, working with my predecessor, initiated discussions with the project developers to ensure that a full-sized, affordable, high-quality community supermarket replaced the Key Food. I am pleased to see that William Macklowe Company and Senlac Ridge Partners have followed through on the community’s requests with Lidl’s selection and inclusion of CSG’s priorities in the supermarket lease. I am eager to continue working with the developers, the Lidl team, and the CSG to center our communities’ needs in the roll-out of this new resource for Park Slope and Gowanus residents.”

Inside Lidl’s Harlem Supermarket. Photo: Lidl Food Market

Jay Marcus, Director of Real Estate for the Fifth Avenue Committee, a local nonprofit affordable housing group, who the CSG chose to act as their spokesperson, stated, “The selection of Lidl, a market leader in affordable pricing, and the lease’s inclusion of the CSG‐ requested features to establish a truly neighborhood‐oriented supermarket, is a win‐win-win for the William Macklowe Company/Senlac Ridge Partners development team, Lidl, and the Park Slope and Gowanus communities.

“The many appealing standard features of Lidl supermarkets, coupled with the lease requirements, fulfill and memorialize the conditions in the Cooperation Agreement. Lidl commendably also has expressed eagerness to meet with community groups to discuss product diversity and to become active in the 5th Avenue BID. We look forward to working with them.

“The CSG is grateful to Macklowe/Senlac, the elected officials whose support of this effort was critical, the dozens of community members who participated in planning meetings, and the hundreds of area residents who provided input that led to what we believe will be a significant enhancement to the Park Slope and Gowanus neighborhoods.”