The former Tops on West 26th Street is being converted into three separate businesses, including a Grocery Outlet.

Months after the Tops supermarket on West 26th Street closed, three businesses are moving in; a fitness center, a Dollar Tree and a Grocery Outlet.

“There’s a lot of work going on outside of downtown that we’re pleased with,” said Andy Zimmerman, manager of the Bureau of Code Enforcement for the City of Erie. “They’ll go in and they’ll divide the three spaces. They’ll put up rated walls, and so forth to separate out the tenant spaces, so that each side is independent from one another.”

Zimmerman said Grocery Outlet is a company that has been around for several decades. He said he hopes this provides some relief for neighbors.

“It’s exciting to see a grocery come back to that space. I know a lot of people are disappointed that Tops did move on,” Zimmerman said.

The president of Erie City Council said there were concerns about this area of the city becoming a food desert.

“When the EMTA was providing shuttle service there was hope that that would be some sort of sufficient stop gap for the time being but it really wasn’t what residents were looking for. They were looking for something that was local and in there neighborhood. So, it’s so great to see it addressed in this way where the residents will still be taken care of,” said Chuck Nelson, president of Erie City Council

City officials said construction could be complete as soon as this May.o