(Photo courtesy of Bashas')

The Bashas' store at 7th Avenue and Osborn Road in Phoenix is the company's longest operating store in the Valley.

(Photo courtesy of Target)

Rendering of Target's flexible-format store scheduled to open at 16th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix in July 2017.

(Photo courtesy of Trammell Crow Company)

A conceptual rendering of what the 7th Avenue and Osborn Road location could look like.

The shopping landscape in central Phoenix is changing. A local grocer expects to close its oldest store in the Valley and a big chain will fill the space left vacant by another.

Target will move into the former Sports Authority at 16th Street and Camelback Road. When the store opens in July, it will mark Target’s first flexible-format location in Arizona. The 50,000-square-foot store is roughly one-third the size of a traditional Target. The company says smaller stores are a priority in urban and densely populated suburban areas.

Less than four miles away, the clock is ticking for a Bashas’ store that opened 60 years ago. 

“That store’s been underperforming for quite some time," said Ashley Shick, director of communcications. “We run into situations where we really need to assess and ensure that we are being fiscally responsible for our organization but also for our  members and the land is an extremely valuable asset in that part of town from a development standpoint.” 

Shick said Bashas agreed to sell the corner lot at 7th Avenue and Osborn Road. The deal is contingent upon the city approving the developer’s plans which currently include apartments, restaurants and retail — but no Bashas'. 

“We do have a long history in that community and I assure you that it is not a decision made lightly by the Basha family," she said adding that the store’s 60 to 70 part and full-time employees will all be offered jobs at other Bashas’ locations.