Fred Meyer Redeveloping North Interstate Store

PORTLAND-Fred Meyer is preparing to raze its two-building North Interstate complex here and replace it with a new, larger Fred Meyer under one roof. The $20-million endeavor is expected to be complete in time for the 2004 holiday shopping season.

Located at 7404 N. Interstate Ave., the existing store is a one-level complex totaling 121,000 sf, including a main store and an ancillary building that holds the chain’s home, garden, sports and automotive departments. The new complex will consist of one two-level, 150,000-sf building that will sit where the ancillary building and its parking lot is now located, and a 9,000-sf commercial building at the corner of Lombard Street and Northeast Interstate Avenue.

Fred Meyer is a locally based 134-store chain owned by The Kroger Co. The impetus for the new Interstate store is likely the city’s new light rail line, which will run on North Interstate. A Fred Meyer spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The existing complex will shut down in stages. The ancillary building will close Oct. 14. The main building will close Jan. 3. The pharmacy, currently in the main building, will likely remain open, either on store property in a temporary building or somewhere near the site. The pharmacy in the new Fred Meyer will have a drive-thru window.

The Interstate location’s main building was constructed in 1953 and expanded in 1966. The ancillary building was added in 1974 and the whole property was renovated in 1991.