A forthcoming Trader Joe’s in College Park is drawing new attention to the Route 1 corridor.

Located at 4429 Calvert Rd. in the Aster mixed-use development, previously known as the Southern Gateway project, the new grocery store is still under construction, with a “coming soon” on the Trader Joe’s store directory.

But the store has already drawn favorable news coverage from WTOP, NBC4, the Washington Business Journal, and other outlets.

First reported in the Hyattsville Wire last October, the Trader Joe’s will be first in Prince George’s County, the 10th in Maryland and the 21st in the greater D.C. area, making it one of the largest grocery chains by sales in the area. Like other Maryland Trader Joe’s, it won’t have beer and wine unlike at its D.C. locations.

It will be an anchor tenant for the $140 million Aster project, which will also include locations of national chains Crunch Fitness and Roots Natural Kitchen and D.C. chain Bandit Taco.

Located on the former site of Plato’s Diner and Quality Inn Hotel, Aster will have 70,000 square feet of retail space and 400 apartments, with the first tenants expected to move in by the end of summer.

Trader Joe’s is the latest entrant in the Route 1 corridor grocery store boom, which has included new Safeway, Whole Foods and Lidl and a remodeled Aldi.

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