In selecting the Harford County site, the chain said it took into account the area's expected influx of residents who will work at or near Aberdeen Proving Ground, which is expected to get 8,200 new jobs through federal base realignment and closures.
Harford County officials said they want to lure more upscale retailers to the county to serve the growing needs. James C. Richardson, executive director of the Office of Economic Development, said the county has been talking to Wegmans for about two years.
"We have a great number of residents going to Wegmans at Hunt Valley," he said. "That bodes well for a store here."
Edgewood-based Ward Properties, which owns the 40-acre property where Wegmans expects to locate, said it hopes to begin site work within six months. That would give the supermarket an estimated opening of January 2011, said James M. Martin, Ward's president.
"I think there's a current need in Harford County for a store of this kind, but part of Wegmans' thought process is the upcoming influx of people from BRAC," Martin said. "People have not stopped buying groceries. Our hope is to move quickly ahead once the lease is signed."
The $60 million development is envisioned to include a bank, restaurants and smaller stores, which might not be built until the economy begins to improve, Martin said. The project must receive county site plan approval.
The Abingdon store will likely be similar in design to the chain's newest stores, which offer a cafe where fresh seafood is cooked to order, Natale said.
Wegmans plans five other stores in Maryland, including two locations where construction has begun, in Crofton and Landover. Sites in Columbia, Frederick and Germantown are in the approval process, Natale said.
