Albertsons Grocer's time in Pensacola: A change in one former store's polygon shape
This post doesn't relate 100% to my course in GIS, but since this relates to Pensacola and a grocery chain which used to have a strong presence there, I thought why not? Actually there was a slight change in the property of one former Albertsons store location in Pensacola on Mobile Highway.
I like going to the grocery store, and I really like Publix. They have awesomely well run and clean stores and lots of bogo sales! However I have good memories of shopping and renting movies at one particular grocery chain back in the day, and that was Albertsons. I also used to like Winn-Dixie as a child, but as time has gone on, their stores are not nearly as nice and clean as they used to be, nor do they have the great deals. Enough about my experiences though. Let me get right into the meat of what this post is really about: Albertsons past stores in Pensacola and their associated properties.
To start off, let me explain that a lot of information I have is from another blog I discovered 2 years ago that has an extremely interesting and insightful look into Florida's grocery store history. This blog is called The Albertsons Florida Blog. The Albertsons Florida Blog is run by an individual who has a passion for documenting current and past retail (specifically former Albertsons store locations), but also including Winn-Dixie, Publix, Sweetbay, Food Lion, Kash N Karry, and many other stores. His store list shows most of the information of every Albertsons store that operated in Florida! 4 Albertsons stores total operated in Escambia County between 1976 and 2008. In 2008 Publix Supermarkets purchased all 4 Albertsons locations and converted them to Publix by early 2009. Some of you who live/ grew up in Pensacola may remember some of them.
Let's take a look at the Albertsons stores around Pensacola that I was able to dig up information on. Plus, I also describe how GIS data could have been heavily utilized in the property development of Pensacola's first Albertsons store.
Albertsons #4309. 5055 N. 9th Ave @ Bayou Blvd. Opened June 23, 1976 (as Skaggs Albertsons).
The photo above is of the first Albertsons which opened in Pensacola on N. 9th Ave.
This store created a stir of controversy because of its potential impact to nearby Carpenters Creek, which we learned in the last week was a waterway vulnerable for contamination. Residents and environmental officials were concerned that the construction site of the Albertsons would need a retention pond to handle water runoff and it would erode the berm around the creek. After much delay the store was eventually built after Albertsons officials assured locals that any erosion issue would be taken care of by the company as needed. The store opened on June 23, 1976 and spent the next 32 years serving Pensacola. Just imagine; If the GIS back in 1976 were as advanced as it is today, how much easier it would have been to determine a faster solution to the problem. The issue of runoff using a raster data model could have helped showing elevation changes within the site. This I feel could have helped the company and city of Pensacola immensely back then! This is one of the examples of why GIS data is so important!
Albertsons #4329. 4525 Mobile Highway. Opened January 24, 1979.
The photo above is the 2nd Albertsons to open in Pensacola: The original Mobile Hwy store. The reason I say original is because the original building, like the one shown above, does not exist anymore! Back in 2007 this building was torn down and a new Home Depot store was built in its place. In a moment I'll show the change and reconfiguration of the land parcel that used to contain Albertsons #4329.
I posted these comparison photos above to show how a land parcel was significantly changed after a new company took over this parcel. If you look at the Google Earth historical aerial images I saved, you can see a white line (a path I created) to show the original approximate property boundaries of the former Albertsons store vs. the new Home Depot in 2007.
In 1979 this parcel started as Albertsons, and by summer 2007 the old Albertsons building was bulldozed and the original parcel was reconfigured and reshaped. This was a complete reshaping of the polygon of the land parcel to create Home Depot of southwest Pensacola.
Before I conclude I did not mention the two other Albertsons stores that opened in Pensacola. In addition to the stores shown above, a third store #4441 opened at 2180 W. Nine Mile Rd. (now a Publix Supermarket) which opened in October 1996. The last and newest Albertsons to open in Pensacola (which actually opened very close to the UWF campus) opened as store # 4475 on April 25, 2001. This store opened at the corner of University Blvd and Nine Mile Rd in a nice plaza with a Target! This was the nicest Albertsons in Pensacola I would imagine, but it only was around for 6 years before converting to a Publix. But I'm sure that Publix is very nice!
Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this extra-curricular blog post. My reason for posting this is because I really am interested in maps and in particular the layout of shopping centers and their associated anchor stores. I want to use what I've learned and will continue learning of GIS to eventually have a career in shopping center planning using GIS data. That would be my real dream job, but I'll have to do some more research and figure out what companies actually do such a thing.
I like going to the grocery store, and I really like Publix. They have awesomely well run and clean stores and lots of bogo sales! However I have good memories of shopping and renting movies at one particular grocery chain back in the day, and that was Albertsons. I also used to like Winn-Dixie as a child, but as time has gone on, their stores are not nearly as nice and clean as they used to be, nor do they have the great deals. Enough about my experiences though. Let me get right into the meat of what this post is really about: Albertsons past stores in Pensacola and their associated properties.
To start off, let me explain that a lot of information I have is from another blog I discovered 2 years ago that has an extremely interesting and insightful look into Florida's grocery store history. This blog is called The Albertsons Florida Blog. The Albertsons Florida Blog is run by an individual who has a passion for documenting current and past retail (specifically former Albertsons store locations), but also including Winn-Dixie, Publix, Sweetbay, Food Lion, Kash N Karry, and many other stores. His store list shows most of the information of every Albertsons store that operated in Florida! 4 Albertsons stores total operated in Escambia County between 1976 and 2008. In 2008 Publix Supermarkets purchased all 4 Albertsons locations and converted them to Publix by early 2009. Some of you who live/ grew up in Pensacola may remember some of them.
Let's take a look at the Albertsons stores around Pensacola that I was able to dig up information on. Plus, I also describe how GIS data could have been heavily utilized in the property development of Pensacola's first Albertsons store.
Albertsons #4309. 5055 N. 9th Ave @ Bayou Blvd. Opened June 23, 1976 (as Skaggs Albertsons).
The photo above is of the first Albertsons which opened in Pensacola on N. 9th Ave.
This store created a stir of controversy because of its potential impact to nearby Carpenters Creek, which we learned in the last week was a waterway vulnerable for contamination. Residents and environmental officials were concerned that the construction site of the Albertsons would need a retention pond to handle water runoff and it would erode the berm around the creek. After much delay the store was eventually built after Albertsons officials assured locals that any erosion issue would be taken care of by the company as needed. The store opened on June 23, 1976 and spent the next 32 years serving Pensacola. Just imagine; If the GIS back in 1976 were as advanced as it is today, how much easier it would have been to determine a faster solution to the problem. The issue of runoff using a raster data model could have helped showing elevation changes within the site. This I feel could have helped the company and city of Pensacola immensely back then! This is one of the examples of why GIS data is so important!
Albertsons #4329. 4525 Mobile Highway. Opened January 24, 1979.
The photo above is the 2nd Albertsons to open in Pensacola: The original Mobile Hwy store. The reason I say original is because the original building, like the one shown above, does not exist anymore! Back in 2007 this building was torn down and a new Home Depot store was built in its place. In a moment I'll show the change and reconfiguration of the land parcel that used to contain Albertsons #4329.
I posted these comparison photos above to show how a land parcel was significantly changed after a new company took over this parcel. If you look at the Google Earth historical aerial images I saved, you can see a white line (a path I created) to show the original approximate property boundaries of the former Albertsons store vs. the new Home Depot in 2007.
In 1979 this parcel started as Albertsons, and by summer 2007 the old Albertsons building was bulldozed and the original parcel was reconfigured and reshaped. This was a complete reshaping of the polygon of the land parcel to create Home Depot of southwest Pensacola.
Before I conclude I did not mention the two other Albertsons stores that opened in Pensacola. In addition to the stores shown above, a third store #4441 opened at 2180 W. Nine Mile Rd. (now a Publix Supermarket) which opened in October 1996. The last and newest Albertsons to open in Pensacola (which actually opened very close to the UWF campus) opened as store # 4475 on April 25, 2001. This store opened at the corner of University Blvd and Nine Mile Rd in a nice plaza with a Target! This was the nicest Albertsons in Pensacola I would imagine, but it only was around for 6 years before converting to a Publix. But I'm sure that Publix is very nice!
Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this extra-curricular blog post. My reason for posting this is because I really am interested in maps and in particular the layout of shopping centers and their associated anchor stores. I want to use what I've learned and will continue learning of GIS to eventually have a career in shopping center planning using GIS data. That would be my real dream job, but I'll have to do some more research and figure out what companies actually do such a thing.
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