Harris Teeter announced that it’s following right in line with Fenty’s plan (and fat tax incentives) to make NoMa a reality and not just a silly name used in press releases. In a press release, ‘Teet officials say they’ve actually been sizing up NoMa “for the past several years” and plan to open a full-service grocery at First and M Streets NE in the winter of 2010.

This will be the third Harris Teeter in the District, none of which are actually open. The first one, which as we all know was supposed to open on Kalorama in Adams Morgan two years ago, is now scheduled to open on April 26, according to a spokeswoman. She also said that the store going up on Jenkins Row in Capitol Hill will be ready by mid-May.

The NE store will spread out over 50,000 square feet on a single level of Constitution Square, most of which will be occupied by the Dept. of Justice. Also going in: 440 new apartments, the requisite “retail space,” and 150 parking spaces.

“It is quite unique for a high-end, full-service grocery store like Harris Teeter to commit to a new store so early in the development of an emerging neighborhood,” says Elizabeth Price of the NoMa BID. “You just have to look at how grocery stores have transformed neighborhoods in other parts of the District to realize the significance of this lease.” Cue our guy, Mr. Renaissance.