A supermarket will take up residence in a long vacant space in Hills Plaza.
Giant Food Store will move into the anchor spot at 2121 S. Atherton St. in the shopping plaza, according to minor land development plans submitted to College Township by project engineer PennTerra. It will be the third Giant in the State College area, joining locations in Northland Center and East College Avenue.
The storefront is 68,404 square feet, according to the plans. In addition to converting the building for use as a grocery store, the plans also show that the former State College Diner will be demolished and the site paved. Utility and exterior lighting work also are included in the plans.
The space has been vacant for 15 years since Ames closed in 2002 as the department store chain entered corporate bankruptcy. Ames had been in the space since 1999, when the company took over the former Hills Department Store.
The 45-year-old shopping center is owned by Vita & Vita Realty Corp. of Fairfield, N.J. It includes Hills Plaza, where the new Giant will be located, to the north of Rolling Ridge Drive; Short Hills Plaza (to the rear of Hills Plaza); and South Hills Plaza, to the south of Rolling Ridge Drive. The latter already includes a grocery store in its anchor spot — the recently remodeled Weis Market.
Another grocery store once resided in the Hills Plaza. The current Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, next to where the new Giant will be, was a Bi-Lo supermarket until the late 1990s.
