Giant in Eagle Village to undergo renovations this fall

By KELLY EMMRICH

Construction in Fredericksburg, especially near the University of Mary Washington campus, is a big concern for some of the Eagle Landing residences, who lived through the building of both the Information Technology Convergence Center and the University Center.

Last week, Giant Foods of Landover, Maryland, announced that state-of-the-art renovations would be made to the Eagle Village location starting in October and finishing in mid-December of this year.

During the construction of the ITCC and UC, complaints concerned the noise from the renovations, which plagued Custis, Madison, Westmorland, Virginia, Ball, Alvey and Arrington residence halls.

Although many students did not know about the Giant renovations that are going to be taking place, many people were excited when they found out.

For instance, Asia Huff, a sophomore chemistry major, is an avid Giant Foods shopper and Eagle Landing resident assistant. Huff had initials concerns with whether or not Giant would be open during renovations.

However, after finding that Giant would be open during renovations Huff said that she “didn’t see anything wrong with the current Giant, but I am incredibly excited to see all of the modern updates.”

Jeff Rountree, the UMW Foundation Executive Officer of the Eagle Property Holdings, LLC, clarified that the store during the construction will be fully operational and the construction, while extensive, will be exclusively noticeable to the customers inside.

“The store will be fresh, new, and modern,” Rountree said. “Expanded offerings such as organic and natural foods, market-style produce and a better selection of craft beers and international wines will highlight the renovation. Self check- outs were a major addition that I wanted to see as well.”

The store will feature an expanded organic produce section, a Check it! Zone complete with six new self-checkout stations and six main registers, and many other modern installments. The renovations will all be state-of-the-art and the highest level of renovation that Giant corporate will approve for older locations.

Rose Frechette, an undeclared sophomore who lives in Eagle Landing, was especially excited about the more organic option. “As a gluten free vegan, it will be very nice to have a section that focuses on the freshest fruits and vegetables,” Frechette said.