ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP: Giant Eagle said Friday it plans to move from the Hyde Park Plaza to the future Allegheny Towne Center shopping center less than a quarter-mile away. Giant Eagle said it wants to open its new store next spring. Construction is expected to begin next month. Four Boys is developing Allegheny Towne Center, a 37.5-acre shopping center between Route 356 and Route 56. Joe Ferraccio, who owns several Shop 'n Save and Save-A-Lot grocery stores in the Valley, is president of Four Boys. The first phase of the project - the construction and preparation of seven parcels - should be done this year, Ferraccio said Friday. Ferraccio said Giant Eagle will be the 'anchor tenant' of Allegheny Towne Center. A Wendy's restaurant also is coming, as are other businesses, but Ferraccio would not say which ones. The Giant Eagle will be in an 80,000 square-foot facility, 60 percent larger than the Hyde Park Plaza store, and will have services that many of the larger supermarkets have, according to Giant Eagle marketing officials. The new Giant Eagle will have an in-store pharmacy, Iggle Video rentals, a Java Sonata cafe, Eagle's Nest child supervision, organic fruits and other healthy foods, dry cleaning services, River City Chicken and other services, spokeswoman Laura Karet said. Some of the services aren't available at the Hyde Park Plaza store, spokesman John Tedesco said. 'It's a good store that has served the community well over the years, but you know it's getting a few years old,' Tedesco said. 'We've dramatically changed our format and our offerings to customers, and it's difficult to go in and remodel a store and capture what you want do,' Tedesco said. The Hyde Park Plaza Giant Eagle opened in July 1981. It has 155 employees who can transfer to the new store, which will need more than 200 employees. 'We don't know what will happen at the Hyde Park Giant Eagle, but we do own that property and we're reviewing our options,' Tedesco said. The $10 million Allegheny Towne Center behind Hyde Park Plaza has stirred debated since about 1993, drawing fire from nearby homeowners who want to keep the neighborhood residential. Residents have said the development would aggravate flooding problems, but township supervisors have said engineers have assured officials a series of retention ponds will keep the problem from becoming worse. Ferraccio's Shop 'n Save in Allegheny Plaza, Allegheny Township, is set to close June 23. He said that closing is an unfortunate and difficult business decision. Almost 50 employees will continue to receive benefits until the store shuts its doors. Ferraccio also said he is selling his Lower Burrell Shop 'n Save to the owners of Community Supermarkets, which plan to take over the Hillcrest Shopping Plaza location June 3. Ferraccio said there are no plans to sell his other stores, which include two Save-A-Lot outlets in New Kensington and Harrison - and one remaining Shop 'n Save in Harrison. Ferraccio demurred when he was asked if the closing of the Allegheny Township Shop 'n Save was linked to Giant Eagle's becoming the anchor store of his development. 'I think honestly where I'd like to leave that is we did look at everything and we elected to develop a parcel for Giant Eagle,' he said. Jonathan Szish can be reached at jszish@tribweb.com .

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