Giant Food at City Market at O wins Coveted Grocery Store Equivalent of an Oscar for Best Overall Design

7th and O Street, NW

From a press release:

“Roadside Development, LLC (Roadside) is pleased to announce that the Giant Food at City Market at O won the Award for Best Overall Design for a grocery store from Progressive Grocer. The Award is part of Progressive Grocer’s annual design competition that recognizes store design, construction and store impact. Shalom Baranes Associates (SBA) was the architect for the overall project and JCA Architects was the project architect for the Giant interior. Progressive Grocer is a national publication centered on the grocery store and grocery distribution industry.

The state-of-the-art 78,000 square foot Giant Food Store, is located in the historic O Street Market at 7th and O streets, the cornerstone of this 1 million square foot development project. “It is rewarding to work with a talented team that produces such quality places,” said Richard Lake, founding Partner, Roadside Development, LLC, developer of City Market at O. “Our design team incorporated this new modern store with a National Historic Landmark building. Combining the charm of a 19th century marketplace with 21st century efficiency and innovation to create a very comfortable and compelling retail environment.” More than a quarter of the new store, including the produce section, resides under the historic O Street Market structure.

The Giant is part of a 1 million square foot, two-block redevelopment that includes 4 residential buildings, a Cambria Suites Hotel, the Giant Store, and another 10,000 sf of retail. “This is a neighborhood friendly mixed use design. By placing the service areas for all uses below grade, including the giant grocery loading, we were able to minimize loading docks and service areas at street level,” said Robert M. Sponseller, Design Principal, Shalom Baranes Architects. “We wanted the street facades to be neighborhood scaled and friendly. We also proposed that the restored historic market building be renovated and used as part of their store. It has a wonderful character and quality and connects to the neighborhood historically and culturally. Giant deserves credit for being receptive to both of these innovative concepts.”

“It was critical for us to pay attention to the historic elements of the market in the redesign of the store,” said John Cooney, president, JCA Architects. “The history helped set the tone for the store’s overall interior, and we were able to incorporate historic elements, including the dramatic pitch of the roof, into a design that is crisp, clean and current.”

It is not just the design that is unique. The Giant Food store is the largest traditional grocer in the city and it boasts a beer and wine bar, so customers can sip while they shop. It also has an expanded produce section, an up graded wine selection, a strong mix of international products, and a deli with a full and take out section.

“Our vision for City Market at O is that it will become an integral part of the Shaw community, even the center point of this historic neighborhood,” said Lake. City Market at O reveals how the successful intersection of old and new can create a place that truly appeals to long-term residents as well as new ones. The Giant has become a gathering place for the neighborhood, even for a few dates. “The mix of housing combined with new and old architecture in the project creates a truly authentic environment that readily integrates with the neighborhood and has proven to be a catalyst to development in Shaw,” said Lake.”