Aldi in Rotterdam moving along, to open mid-July (with 3 photos)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Work Friday on the Aldi in Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM – An Aldi grocery store being built in Rotterdam is beginning to take shape as crews worked Friday on the new supermarket.

“The Aldi’s store being built at the Five Corners in Rotterdam is on schedule for a mid-July opening,” said Ray Gillen, the chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority, which helped bring the company to Rotterdam.

The county announced last March that Aldi would be developing its third location in the county on two vacant sites previously the location of a CVS pharmacy and Taylor & Vadney Sporting Goods Shop located at the Five Corners–the area where Broadway, Curry Road, Duanesburg Road, Mariaville Road and Princetown Road meet.

Aldi also has a location at 1592 State Street in the Woodlawn Plaza and at 303 Saratoga Road in Glenville.

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During discussions on how to develop the land, Gillen said they asked town residents what they wanted to see in the area and received overwhelming response that a grocery store was needed.

During his over 20 years on the job Rotterdam Senior Planner Peter Comenzo said people have been wishing for a grocery store on the western end of town.

“During certain times of the day, it is very difficult to access the Altamont Avenue commercial corridor,” he said. “I live in the western end of town and just to get something to throw together for dinner as simple as say tortilla shells and a tomato is a 25-30 minute round trip drive.”

He said before the vacant lot was the site of CVS it was a Save Way Market.

“It is interesting to see the cycle of how this property is now reverting back to its original use as a smaller grocery now,” he said.

“This new store will also provide easy access to residents of the Bellevue neighborhood and the Broadway corridor in the city of Schenectady as the city line is just a couple of blocks away,” Gillen said.

Social media has been abuzz about the new supermarket since its announcement, with people posting updated photos of the work and comments of excited following suit. German-based ALDI operates more than 2,000 markets in 38 U.S. states featuring a no-frills model and discount prices. Albany-based commercial and residential developer Gordon Development is in charge of the project.

Reporter Shenandoah Briere can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at SB_DailyGazette.