The Trader Joe’s at 1999 Centre Street in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood is no longer a future plan or a fresh opening. The store has been operating since late 2025, fully converting a former Walgreens site into a neighborhood-scale grocery location.
The transition reused the existing building rather than introducing new construction, keeping the familiar footprint while adapting the interior and parking layout to fit Trader Joe’s compact store model. Since opening, the location has become part of the daily retail rhythm along Centre Street.
Location and site context
The property sits at a busy stretch of Centre Street, adjacent to an active rail corridor and surrounded by established residential blocks. Aerial imagery shows the site has long functioned as a commercial parcel, making it a natural candidate for reuse rather than redevelopment. The surrounding area includes banks, small retailers, and community-oriented services, reinforcing the store’s role as a neighborhood anchor rather than a destination supermarket.
Parking and access reflect the site’s urban constraints, a familiar tradeoff for Trader Joe’s locations in dense markets. Despite that, the store remains well-positioned for both local foot traffic and drivers moving through the corridor.
Why the conversion made sense
Trader Joe’s has consistently favored adaptive reuse in urban neighborhoods, especially where large grocery footprints are impractical. Taking over a former Walgreens allowed the chain to establish a presence in West Roxbury without reshaping the block or disrupting the surrounding area with major construction…