Construction begins on Trader Joe’s Pinecrest store

Construction has begun on Trader Joe’s 13,500-square-foot space in the suburban village of Pinecrest, and the specialty grocery store chain reconfigured the space to accommodate more parking, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

After months of working to adhere to the Miami-Dade County’s building code requirements to secure a construction permit, work has begun at 9205 South Dixie Highway across from the Dadeland South Metrorail Station.

The site was formerly home to a Borders bookstore. The bookstore’s parking lot had confusing entrances and single-lane parking, according to the Business Journal, and would not be able to handle the volume of customers that Trader Joe’s expects to have.

“Trader Joe’s was faced with an issue regarding a bigger floor plate than their prototype and a need for adequate parking at their new Pinecrest location,” Jeremy Larkin, president of brokerage NAI Miami, told the Business Journal.

The solution, Larkin said, was to cut off the front of the building to create a second row of parking. “This reduces their floor plate to closer to their prototype, reduces the required parking spaces and increases the actual number of parking spaces available. Problem solved.”

The Pinecrest location is expected to open by the end of the year, and an additional store in Palm Beach Gardens is scheduled to open in fall 2014. [South Florida Business Journal] – Hiten Samtani