Greggs and gym franchisee Fit4less have been announced as the final tenants for the expanded Rosehill Retail Centre in Felixstowe Road, it has been confirmed.
In July the East of England Co-op announced a major £4million expansion of the site onto its former coal yard near the existing co-op and Aldi stores.
Discount retailer Poudstretcher was confirmed in August, with Greggs and Fit4less having confirmed this week it would be filling the final two vacant units.
East of England Co-op joint chief executive Nick Denny said: “We have already got Fit4less in Peartree Road [Colchester] and we found having them on site attracts footfall at different points of the day.
“They are run by franchisees so it’s a great local link and it’s just worked really well in terms of the compatibility.
“Greggs gives us another dimension. They are rapidly expanding and they are absolutely delighted with the unit.”
Greggs is likely to open this Spring while Fit4less is aiming to open this summer.
The gym will be the first franchisee of the national chain in Ipswich.
Marc Whelan, head of acquisitions and property for the Energie Group said: “We are very excited about this fantastic development in Rosehill.
“Our franchisees have some great concepts for the local people to be involved in and will be hitting the local marketing trail shortly with some fantastic pre-opening member deals.
“We’ve really cemented a good working relationship with the East of England Co-op and will look to mirror how they work within communities and will be looking to be involved in local projects to encourage an active lifestyle from a young age.”
The existing Aldi store will move onto a purpose built new unit, with Poundstretcher filling the empty Aldi unit.
Developers are hopeful the entire development will be open by Easter 2018.
Mark Bailey, divisional director of developers Barnes which began work in September, said: “It’s been going well.
“They were my local shops so I know the area very well, and the relationship with the client is absolutely delightful – a large local employer is giving local contracts and hiring locally their workers, so you want to do the best you can.”
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