WinCo looks to expand in small Oregon town

Boise-based WinCo Foods has applied to build a new 84,087-square-foot grocery store in Woodburn, Oregon, with a target to open in 2027, according to application materials submitted to the city.

If approved, the new grocery store would be built just east of Interstate 5 on Stacy Allison Way in an undeveloped field just south of Walmart Supercenter and directly across Interstate 5 from the WinCo Foods distribution center.

Woodburn is approximately 31 miles south of Portland and 18 miles north of Salem in western Oregon, and has a population of 30,449.

WinCo opened that distribution center in Woodburn in 1998, but this will be its first store in the city. The WinCo store closest to the distribution center is the Waremart by WinCo in Keizer.

Construction will start in late 2026 or early 2027 and open in mid to late 2027, according to the application.

WinCo submitted its application on Dec. 12, and wants bigger signs in front, and fewer EV parking spaces.

The 42-foot-tall grocery store is proposed for land between Stacy Allison Way and Evergreen Road, just south of Center Street and visible from Interstate 5.

The architect for the project is b.hills architecture of Boise, Idaho.

The 10.6-acre plot where the proposed store would be built has been owned by Capital Development Corporation since 2004, according to Marion County property tax records.

The store would have 504 parking spaces with 10 accessible stalls and 10 carpool spaces, according to WinCo’s design review application.

WinCo is asking for a variance that would allow it to have 38 bicycle spaces, fewer than the required 50. It argues a WinCo location in Eugene with as many spots as required is never fully utilized.

The company also is asking to reduce the number of electric vehicle parking spaces to 17 from the mandated 25.

“This many EV charging stalls imposes an excessive burden on the Applicant and proposed project because it is not a practical quantity based on feedback from Tesla,” the application argues.

The application also asks for variances to have a larger sign on the front of the building – 453 square feet instead of 153 square feet – and to increase the height of light poles by 10 feet to 24.5 feet.

What’s next for WinCo’s Woodburn application?

The application is under review by the city. It will go to the Woodburn Planning Commission at an undetermined date for land use review.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal. Reporting by Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.