Grosvenor has bought a Woolworths store in Crawley for its planned redevelopment of the town centre
The acquisition is the first of several that the developer hopes to make in the Town Centre to facilitate its Town Centre North redevelopment proposals.
Woolworths will continue to trade at the store in Queens Square and will hold discussions with Grosvenor about its requirement for a new store in the future.
Grosvenor has been in talks with several landowners and occupiers in an effort to agree terms with those businesses to lay the path for the Town Centre North scheme, which will be anchored by John Lewis.
Grosvenor was selected as development partner in 2005 by the local authority to develop 32 acres (13 ha) of land around the Boulevard area in the town.
It will hold a full public consultation in the autumn with a view to submitting a planning application before the end of the year.
It hopes to start on site in autumn of 2010 and reach completion by autumn 2013.