A permit application filed with the City of Orlando has revealed that a new Trader Joe’s (Website) is being planned for East Colonial Drive, though the grocer has not confirmed the project (we asked, but they’re being coy).
The application, listed under the project name “Trader Joe’s,” is for 3001 E. Colonial Drive [GMap], in the Colonial Marketplace shopping center next to Orlando Fashion Square mall. The work listed on the city paperwork is described as an interior tenant fit-out of an existing building into a Trader Joe’s store, including new partitions, fixtures, millwork, flooring, ceilings, light fixtures, and mechanical, plumbing, and electrical work. The property is zoned AC-3/AN.
City records list the permit number as BLD2026-18223 and the application status as open. No issue date appears on the record, and no inspections have been logged. The application expires April 6, 2027. The space was most recently home to a Burlington. The retailer moved in 2024 to a former Bed Bath & Beyond space up the street in the nearby Colonial Landing center.
The site sits along East Colonial Drive between the Mills 50 and Colonialtown areas, a corridor that has been seeing a wave of retail turnover. If the store is confirmed, it would add to a growing Trader Joe’s footprint in Central Florida. WKMG reports locations under construction in Maitland, Waterford Lakes and Kissimmee, alongside existing stores in Winter Park and the Dr. Phillips area.
We just want to remind you that permit applications don’t guarantee a store will actually open, and no opening date has been announced.
