Work began recently on the upgrade. The supermarket building will be expanded by about 40% and 12 car parks will be added to the surrounds. Owner-operator Kevin Ryan said the store opened 32 years ago and the last major renovation was in 2000.
‘‘It's exciting to see this fulfilling the expectation of what we believed it could be. Spending this money shows the faith we and [New World owner] Foodstuffs have in his town.''
‘‘The timing is good - there's lots of confidence around, tradies are all busy and school rolls here are on the rise, so everyone's confident about the future.''
Foodstuffs owned the building and land, the company's South Island property and retail development general manager Roger Davidson said. About $10million was being spent on the project and when it was completed in the latter half of next year, the store would have a greater range of products and fresh food and be comparable to its city counterparts.
‘‘It's a substantial development and solidifies our long-term commitment to Alexandra,'' Mr Davidson said.
Mr Ryan said the store would continue to trade throughout construction and he apologised in advance for any disruption to customers.
The new complex would include a small cafe, extra checkouts, bigger foyer space, an expanded fresh foods section and room for an additional 3000 stock lines. There would also be extra storage room, which was needed to cater for online shopping in the future.
The realignment of the car park would begin next month, as tarsealing could be done only at certain times of the year. New World is one of the bigger employers in the area and has a total of 160 staff, full-timers and part-timers.
Alexandra, Clyde and Districts Business Group committee member and past chairman Bruce Davidson said the development was excellent for the town.
‘‘It's a real vote of confidence in the town and in the area, if a key anchor tenant in the town like New World has decided to go ahead with such a big redevelopment, and that'll send a positive message to other developers about Alexandra, too,'' he said.
