Trader Joe's, which has a grocery store and wine shop near Union Square, will open another location on East 14th Street. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Olivia Scheck

EAST VILLAGE — Trader Joe's will open a new store in the East Village in the second half of 2018, the grocery chain announced Wednesday.

The popular grocer will unveil a new location at 432 E. 14th St., between First Avenue and Avenue A, part of the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office site now being transformed into a mixed-use development.

News that the store had signed a lease for the location was first reported by The Real Deal.

The site had become embroiled in controversy when developers Benenson Capital Partners and the Mack Real Estate Group pitched a plan to the Board of Standards and Appeals for a 12-story structure, which was decried by community activists as out-of-character with the surrounding low-rise neighborhood.

Developers then reduced the plan to nine stories — only one story higher than is allowed under the current zoning — but preservationists still revolted. The bid to build higher was scrapped altogether in March, as developers decided to move ahead with a building rising to eight stories on 13th Street and seven stories on 14th Street.

The development will contain 114 apartments, 23 of which will be set aside as below-market-rate.

Trader Joe's will also open a new Lower East Side location in 2018 at 146 Clinton St., part of the sprawling Essex Crossing development. The grocery chain has another location on East 14th Street, between Third Avenue and Irving Place.

Extell Development Company had previously claimed it was planning to ink a deal with the chain to open a store at an East Village mixed-use site spanning 500-524 E. 14th St. A representative for the developer did not immediately return a request for comment.