Wegmans is continuing its expansion in the D.C. area with a new store on Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue corridor.

The popular grocer has signed on for 84K SF to anchor StonebridgeCarras' mixed-use project at Hoffman Town Center, the developer announced Tuesday.

With plans to open in 2021, Wegmans will occupy the second-floor retail space at the 1M SF mixed-use development, the first second-floor store in the country for the typically suburban grocer. This will allow StonebridgeCarras to find tenants for the remaining retail space — roughly 126K SF is still available — that will better activate the street level.

"Landing Wegmans is perfect for the area, and their willingness to locate on the second floor will really make the street environment perfect," StonebridgeCarras principal Doug Firstenberg said in a release.

KLNB's Sam Hodges represented Wegmans in the deal. Hodges is also working with StonebridgeCarras to lease the project's retail space, along with Dimitri Georgelakos.

StonebridgeCarras last year acquired Blocks 4 and 5 of the town center, formerly a parking lot for the adjacent AMC movie theater, from the Hoffman family. The developer plans to break ground in early 2019 on its 985K SF project and deliver the first components in the fall of 2021.

Above the retail, StonebridgeCarras plans to build 775K SF of residential space, including a mix of condos and apartments. The development will add more residents and retail amenities to Hoffman Town Center, where the National Science Foundation last week moved into its new 700K SF HQ.

"An important component of our plans for growth in this area is to bring in amenities that serve both our residents and daytime population," Alexandria Economic Development Partnership CEO Stephanie Landrum said in a release.

The deal comes after Wegmans in May announced its first location in the District, signing on to anchor Roadside Development's Fannie Mae HQ redevelopment. The Rochester, New York-based grocer already has a large footprint in Northern Virginia, including another store seven miles away in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. It also has locations in Leesburg, Fairfax, Sterling, Woodbridge, Gainesville and has another store in the works in Tysons.