Alexandria is one step closer to getting a Kroger Marketplace in the city.
The store would be on the east side of US 27, with access coming from a proposed signal point that will align Commercial Circle with Sunset Drive to the west. It will be located on 31.65 acres and represents a $35 million investment from Kroger.
Plans include a double-lane pharmacy drive-through and an 8,000-square-foot wine and spirits store. The marketplace will feature produce, a bakery, a deli, a floral and meat departments, Starbucks, Murray’s Cheese and home goods area.
Plans for the new Kroger Marketplace, which would be 122,912 square feet with a fuel center and wine and spirits shop, were first approved by the Alexandria Planning and Zoning Commission on April 1. The Alexandria City Council held a first reading on the proposed zone change on April 17 and the second on May 1, which was approved unanimously.
The Kroger Marketplace store’s development plans still require approval from the Alexandria Planning and Zoning Commission before the store is official.
“We are certainly not a food desert, but quite frankly, having Kroger come to our community, I think, is a big big win for us,” Alexandria City Councilmember Stacey Graus said during the first reading on April 17.
According to Kroger zoning consultant Ann McBride, Kroger has met with the planning and zoning commission once, and the commission sent them back to work on traffic and signage issues. She said they have an accepted memo of understanding with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, have done the field and traffic counts, and are about halfway through the traffic impact analysis, which is expected to return to KYTC in about 8 weeks.
That is when the development will go back to the planning and zoning commission to approve Kroger’s development plan.
The full list of conditions required by the planning commission during its vote of approval in April was:
- The scope of the traffic study be expanded to address line of sight, internal circulation to the site, and possible connectivity to adjacent properties. The study is coming back to the planning commission for further review following the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recommendations.
- The signage plan be amended and resubmitted to the planning commission addressing the fuel canopy signs.
- To allow the development center sign to include fuel pricing not to exceed 50% of the sign areas on both sides with an allowance to be no more than 82 square feet in total and no more than 12 feet in height.
Alexandria also negotiated an Industrial Revenue Bond agreement attached to the Kroger development.
Donnie Warner, with Frost Brown Todd, represents the city as bond counsel. At the April 17 meeting, Warner explained that the bonds are not general obligation bonds that the city would be responsible for repaying but are the sole responsibility of the developer.
The current agreement has the city receiving 40% of the property tax it would typically receive from the property, and 60% for 30 years, going back to the developer to offset development costs.
The city currently receives $2,456 a year in taxes from the site.
Graus said part of the agreement is that Kroger has to reach a certain payroll tax number, or the city will get more than 40% of the property tax. The project is expected to create an estimated $6 million in new taxable wages, which equates to potentially $90,000 in payroll a year.
The city unanimously approved the IRB at the April 17 meeting.
McBride, who has been working with the city of Cold Spring on its Martha Layne Collins Kroger expansion, reiterated to the Alexandria council that the Crossroads Boulevard location in Cold Spring is not turning into a distribution center as rumored.
As part of the zone change, the development will have two lots marked for future development. Though it has not been announced what is slated for those sites, Graus said during the April 17 meeting that he thinks those areas could be their best opportunity to get a sit-down restaurant, something residents have asked for in the city.
Graus said Alexandria is essentially where the city meets the country, or the “tip of civilization,” and demographics play a big role in where restaurants choose to locate.
“Restaurants want to be in the middle of civilization; they don’t want to be at the tip,” Graus said.
As for the project’s timeline, McBride said Kroger is struggling to get some of the construction materials it needs, like electrical switchgear. Electrical switchgear refers to a centralized collection of circuit breakers, fuses, and switches. McBride said it takes around eight months to get that material.
McBride said she used to tell cities it would take 12-14 months from breaking ground but that is not the case anymore.
Read more about the development plans here.
