A long-time Kroger box in Hedwig Village is being repositioned for a new grocery user, with Sprouts Farmers Market slated to take over a portion of the space. The specialty grocer is planning to open a new store on the site in 2027, bringing a different grocery format to the established retail corridor.
According to reporting from the Houston Business Journal, the project centers on the former Kroger space at 9325 Katy Freeway within the Echo Lane shopping center. Construction crews are currently renovating the 46,268-square-foot building to accommodate Sprouts and to modernize the big-box footprint for multi-tenant use.
Sprouts is expected to occupy approximately half of the former Kroger building, leaving the remaining portion available for another user. The configuration marks a shift from a single-tenant grocery box to a divided layout that could support one or more additional tenants alongside the new Sprouts store. Design work for the renovation is being led by Boucher Design Group.
The Echo Lane center itself has been in place for decades. Built in 1974, the property spans 12 acres and has nearly 150,000 square feet under roof. Smithco acquired the shopping center in 2020, positioning the current owner to capitalize on this remerchandising effort and the reintroduction of a fresh-food anchor into the project.
Sprouts Farmers Market has been active in the Houston-area grocery landscape for more than a decade. The company first entered the market in 2013, opening its initial local store at 23105 Cinco Ranch Boulevard off the Grand Parkway in the Katy area. That debut year saw Sprouts roll out four locations in the region, though one of those stores has since closed.
The forthcoming Hedwig Village store continues Sprouts’ presence in greater Houston and illustrates ongoing demand for specialty and fresh-focused grocery concepts in mature suburban centers. For the Echo Lane shopping center, the transition from Kroger to Sprouts represents a new chapter for a legacy grocery box and could help refresh traffic and merchandising across the property once the renovation is complete and the store opens in 2027.
