Safeway plans to replace its Beretania Street store with a new one that's 50 percent bigger about two blocks away and adjacent to smaller rival Times Supermarkets.

Safeway is buying the former Schuman Carriage automobile dealership property and two adjacent parcels at the corner of Beretania and Pi'ikoi, and anticipates building a 60,000-square-foot store with expanded departments and services that could be open by mid-2011.

The new store will be next to Times, and about three blocks from a Foodland Super Market.

Company spokeswoman Susan Houghton said California-based Safeway, which has 18 Hawai'i stores, was looking to improve its store at 1121 S. Beretania St., but the size of the property made it difficult to enlarge the 40,000-square-foot store by much.

"This community is important to us," she said. "This new store will provide bigger and better shopping opportunities."

The existing store will continue to operate until the new store opens.

Safeway did not disclose the purchase price of the properties it is buying. According to property records, Safeway bought the main Schuman parcel and a smaller parcel for a combined $23 million. The third parcel sale is expected to close Monday.

The seller of the two parcels was Schuman Carriage Co., which closed its dealership on the site in 2004 and for several years leased it to Pflueger Auto Group LLC.

Safeway plans to sell the site of its present Beretania store, and Houghton said there already has been good interest.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.