Award-Winning Grocer To Anchor Liberty Market In Lorton

Fairfax, VA — Lidl, twice-ranked a Top-10 U.S. Grocer by Food & Wine Magazine, will anchor Lorton’s Liberty Market with a 30,000 square-foot store. “We are thrilled to start 2021 with the positive news that we are bringing an affordable, high-quality grocery store to Liberty Market,” said a representative from developer, Elm Street Development. Lidl’s new build is in for building permits with Fairfax County and has been approved by Virginia Department of Historic Resources, National Park Service, and Fairfax County’s Architectural Review Board. It will be located at 9001 White Spruce Way, Lorton, Virginia. An opening date will be announced at a later date.

Elm Street Development will also build a new multi-tenant retail building to complete the shopping center. These two new buildings, plus the seven existing historic structures at the site, will make up Liberty Market, inside the historic brick walls that surround the center. “We are combining the best new construction with the creative reuse of existing buildings. We hope to bring a unique collage of small shops in a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere with fun dining options to create a vibrant community hub for all Lorton residents to enjoy,” said the Elm Street representative.

Liberty Market is the commercial component of the 80-acre project called Liberty, which is the transformation of the historic Lorton Reformatory (also known as Laurel Hill) into a vibrant urban village. The unique community has turned the historic campus into a modern development that includes 172 loft-style apartments, over 180 distinguished single-family and townhomes, and now, the final section of development, Liberty Market, the retail and commercial center. The Lorton Reformatory is on the National Register of Historic Places, making this an exciting adaptive reuse of a historic property.

Judd Bostian, President of Tyson’s Corner based NVRetail, represented the developer in the Lidl real estate transaction at Liberty Market. “With the announcement of Lidl as our anchor, we anticipate gaining significant leasing momentum at Liberty Market going into the second and third quarter of 2021,” Bostian said.

In addition to the 30,000 square foot Lidl store, NVRetail is now actively preleasing a new 13,000 square foot Class A small shop retail building that will be constructed opposite the Lidl at the shopping center. Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects P.C. is designing the new multi-tenant retail building.

NVRetail is also leasing nearly 50,000 square feet of beautifully repurposed historical retail/flex space at the center. Those historic buildings feature vast ceiling heights, oversized windows, and historic brick architecture that opens onto an expansive green grass quad. In the grocery-anchored portion (front portion) of the center, the developer is actively seeking a large footprint brewery, sit-down and quick-service restaurants, fitness users, service providers, and other neighborhood retail uses. In addition, the historical flex space area (rear portion of the center) provides a unique opportunity for an even broader swath of flex, office, and non-traditional retail tenants to co-locate with a grocery anchored center. For more on leasing space at Liberty Market, please visit NVRetail.com/liberty.

Lidl (rhymes with “needle”) offers customers the highest quality fresh produce, flowers, meat, bakery items and a wide array of household products at the lowest possible prices. Lidl produce is brought in fresh each day and features more than 100 high quality fresh fruit and vegetable options. The majority of Lidl’s products are sourced in the U.S., and they also feature unique European specialty items ranging from hard-to-find cheeses to authentic specialty sauces, cured meats, and more. Lidl sells both brand name items and their own private label products, which have won more than 500 awards and counting. Lidl has become known for their ever-changing selection of food and non-food specials that are brought in each Wednesday, keeping the shopping experience exciting and new for customers. The rotating non-food selections will include fitness gear, small kitchen appliances, toys, outdoor furniture and more.
Lidl has been repeatedly recognized for its shopping experience. This year, for the second consecutive time, Food & Wine Magazine ranked Lidl among its Top 10 U.S. Supermarket rankings – ahead of retailers like Trader Joe’s and Costco. A new study from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School observes that prices on Lidl’s award-wining assortment were up to 45 percent lower than nearby national grocers. Lidl also offers wages and benefits for its team that are above the industry standing in every market in which it operates; they offer comprehensive health insurance to all workers, including those working part-time, regardless of the number of hours worked. The U.S. EPA has recognized Lidl stores for their environmentally friendly design.

Lidl operates around 11,200 stores and is active in 32 countries, employing more than 310,000 employees globally. Lidl first established its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, in June 2015, and now has over 600 employees at their HQ. Today, Lidl has more-than 125 stores across nine east coast states, with more than 20 stores in the greater Washington metropolitan area. For more information, please visit Lidl.com.

Liberty Market is located in the Mount Vernon District of Fairfax County. Supervisor Dan Storck stated “I am very pleased to welcome Lidl to the Lorton community and appreciate the additional retail options it will provide South County residents. With this announcement, we are all looking forward to seeing an increase in interested merchants in Liberty Market, leading to a vibrant, walkable, and new community gathering hub.”

ABOUT LIBERTY
Liberty is a new urban village in the heart of Lorton, Virginia, located 25 miles from Washington D.C., and 35 miles from Fredericksburg. Transformed from the Lorton Reformatory, a property on the National Registry of Historic Places, this modern and vibrant community attracts residents and visitors to live, work, shop, and thrive. For more information on Liberty, please visit TheLibertyLife.com.