Hadley Malcolm goes to Wegmans for the first time to find out why it was named the best grocery store in the country in a survey by Consumer Reports. USA TODAY

The site is currently an office complex with three buildings that would be demolished.

 
HARRISON - The Wegmans grocery chain announced Thursday it is proposing to open a Westchester County location on Corporate Park Drive in Harrison.
In a statement, Wegmans Food Markets said the family-owned supermarket chain has signed a purchase agreement with Normandy Real Estate Partners for a 20-acre parcel at 106-110 Corporate Park Drive, off Interstate 287.
“We look forward to the day when we can welcome customers into our Harrison store and help them make delicious, easy meals,” said Ralph Uttaro, Wegmans' senior vice president of real estate, in the statement. “Harrison is an ideal place for us to deliver on our promise of incredible customer service, the best ingredients, restaurant-quality prepared foods and consistent low prices.”
According to the announcement, the 100-year-old company plans to build a standalone 125,000-square-foot store and an 8,000-square-foot "complementary retail outparcel."
The proposed two-story store would feature a cafe for customers.
The site is currently an office complex consisting of three buildings that would be demolished before construction begins, Wegmans said.
Wegmans still needs local approvals for the project, which it says it will seek in conjunction with Normandy.
Design plans "are not finalized and a construction timeline and projected opening date for the store won’t be determined until all necessary approvals are in place," the announcement said.
Normandy is scheduled to request a zoning amendment from Harrison at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, according to the meeting's agenda. The change would allow for retail development at the site.
Wegmans, a Rochester-based chain, emphasizes high volume, high quality and a customer-service philosophy that stresses a personal relationship with the shopper that has earned it a devoted fan base.
In an interview with The Journal News last year, CEO Danny Wegman, the grandson of the chain’s founder, referred to the company's desire to open a Westchester outlet.
“We’ve been looking for over 20 years,” he said at the time. “Hopefully, someday, we’ll find one. We’d love to be there. We’ll get there. We’re pretty tenacious. That’s all I can say. Wish we had one there.”
The supermarket project would be the second major development on that road by Normandy, as it and other landlords seek to revamp the aging corporate office parks along what is known as Westchester's "Platinum Mile."
In September, Harrison officials gave the go-ahead to plans for a 421-unit rental apartment complex on Corporate Park Drive, including 42 affordable units. Normandy plans to construct the apartment complex in partnership with home builder Toll Brothers, on a 10.4 acre site at at 103-105 Corporate Park Drive. The project, like the one pitched for the supermarket, involves razing two dated and underused office buildings.
The street includes several other office buildings — at least one of them vacant — and a daycare center, as well as a Chase bank and a hotel.
Wegmans operates 46 stores in New York in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier region, and has announced plans for a store in Brooklyn. Its empire of 92 stores also includes locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts.