City OKs site plan for Kroger on Suder Ave.
6/11/2004The Toledo Plan Commission yesterday approved the proposed site plan for a new, large Kroger store in what is now a residential stretch of Suder Avenue in Point Place.
Kroger representatives said construction of the store could begin in early fall, with an opening likely in mid-2005.
The shopping center, near the busy intersection of Suder, Ottawa River Road, and I-75, will cover 12 acres. It includes an 83,664-square-foot store with a drive-through pharmacy and a gas station.
Kroger will close its Summit Street store, as well as the store it operates in a former Food Town a half-mile north at Suder and Benore Road, said Tom Cowen, assistant real estate manager for Kroger. He said the Manhattan Boulevard store will stay open and probably be expanded.
In its recommendation to City Council, the plan commission agreed to require a 30-foot landscaped buffer along Suder. Kroger had agreed to a 20-foot buffer. Stephen Herwat, the executive director of the plan commission, said that under the zoning regulations, the company is required to provide only a five-foot buffer.
Point Place residents fought the rezoning, from residential to commercial, last year. The rezoning was approved by City Council in November and allowed to take effect without a signature by Mayor Jack Ford.
The rezoning had been supported by unions representing grocery store workers and construction workers and by contractors.
The store will replace about a dozen residential properties.
Also yesterday, the plan commission:
w●Allowed construction of a four-story cardiac care and surgical unit for St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, 2412 Cherry St. as an amendment to the hospital's 1978 master plan.
The 138,000-square-foot pavilion will eliminate a surface parking lot across Cherry from the main hospital campus.
w●Approved a special use permit for a temporary care facility at 286-360 Wenz Rd. The 25-unit center would provide transitional housing to developmentally disabled individuals.
w●Deferred for two months a request for a special use permit for a convenience store at 580 North Byrne Rd. Neighbors protested the permit, citing problems relating to a previous carryout at the location.
w●Heard farewell comments from commission member Sue Wuest, whose term is ending after five years. Mayor Ford has not yet announced a replacement appointment.