Wait for new Hy-Vee between North Liberty and Coralville nearly over

CORALVILLE - After years of eagerly awaiting construction of a grocery store along the border of Coralville and North Liberty, residents of the rapidly-growing Johnson County communities are about to get two.

West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee, which owns land at the southeast corner of Coral Ridge Avenue and Forevergreen Road, has submitted foundation plans for a 95,000-square-foot store. A building permit likely will be issued within days, according to the Coralville Building and Engineering Department.

Hy-Vee, which operates a store at 1914 Eighth St. in Coralville and three stores in Iowa City, bought the land for a second Coralville store more than five years ago.

The new supermarket at 3285 Crosspark Road will be similar in appearance to others in the Corridor. Plans call for a Market Grille restaurant, a wine and spirits section, pharmacy and Starbucks coffee kiosk.

Hy-Vee, in a statement Thursday, said it expects construction of the store to begin soon and the supermarket will open sometime next year. An exact time frame for the store's grand opening has yet to be determined.

When it disclosed plans for a second Coralville store, Hy-Vee said it was responding to growth in Coralville and North Liberty.

From 2000 to 2010, North Liberty was the second-fastest growing city in Iowa. Since 2000, the community has experienced population growth of 125.55 percent.

Coralville's population grew from 15,123 in 2000 to 18,903 in 2010.

The second Coralville Hy-Vee will compete with grocery stores including a Fareway in North Liberty, Walmart in Coralville - and a new Aldi being built in Coralville.

Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi Inc. has been issued a Coralville building permit for a 17,826-square-foot store at 2750 Heartland Dr., just west of Culver's restaurant.

Heather Moore, vice president of Aldi's Dwight division in Dwight, Ill., said the store will be very similar to the chain's supermarket at 760 Ruppert Road in Iowa City that opened in January 2014.

'We always saw the Coralville-Iowa City market as a two-store market, but it was just a matter of finding the right site,” Moore said.

'We expect to begin construction very shortly and we hope to be open around the Thanksgiving holiday, but construction will depend on the weather.

'We will be hiring 10 or 12 employees. We are targeting just after Labor Day to begin accepting applications.”