The Dunwoody City Council on July 13 is expected to hold a public hearing on several zoning modifications for a proposed Kroger grocery store on Ashford Dunwoody Road in a space formerly occupied by Walmart.
The requests include a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) for a drive-thru pharmacy and other variances that will allow Kroger to develop a gas station on the Perimeter Village property, according to documents filed by the applicant.
“The applicant proposes to utilize the existing footprint of the building with alterations to the front façade, add a drive-through to the front façade, construct a new gas station, and make site improvements,” a staff memo regarding the application said. “The existing building would be subdivided into two retail spaces, with the proposed tenant, Kroger Co., occupying the larger, western, 117,736 SF [square-foot] suite.”
Changes to the site detailed
The front façade would be modified to accommodate a new main entrance for customers, an employee-only entrance for grocery delivery, and a
pharmacy drive-through with a five-car stack, the memo said. A new gas station with a 100-square-foot grab-and-go market would be constructed adjacent to Meadow Lane Road.
The footprint of the entire former Walmart site is 183,500 square feet with a 626-space surface parking lot. Kroger is proposing site improvements that will include a pedestrian connection from Meadow Lane to the property, 11 landscape islands, surface parking for 526 spaces, and 18 bike parking spaces.
“Overall, staff finds that the strict application of the zoning ordinance presents significant practical difficulty to the applicant due to the nature of retrofitting the existing site conditions,” the memo said. “Although the applicant does not fully meet the requirements of the code, site is significantly improved with additional pedestrian access, new landscape islands, additional tree plantings, and the property owner
providing a trail easement.”
The staff recommended passage of the SLUP and variances, with the addition of 11 zoning conditions.
Safety concerns aired at planning commission
At the May 12 Dunwoody Planning Commission meeting, Laurel David with the Galloway Law Group, representing the applicant, said the store is branded as a Marketplace model and will have an interior Starbucks, as well as a baby clothing department.
At a public hearing, nobody spoke in support of the application, and two people spoke against it.
Several speakers in opposition said they were concerned about delivery truck hours that they say would impact their quality of life.
Kroger is asking that a previous condition be struck down that mandates no truck deliveries between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and no truck deliveries between the hours of 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
David said given the concerns expressed by citizens, Kroger is willing to restrict delivery hours to 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, and 11 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Michael Ogden, the director of development for Kimco Realty, said the company is speaking with a potential tenant that may be taking some or all of the remaining Walmart space, but an announcement would be premature.
Several commissioners asked what measures have been put into place to alleviate criminal activity that was rampant when the Walmart was in operation. Kroger officials said the store will have manned check-out lanes, loss-prevention officers on site, security scanners at the exit of the store, and solar-powered cameras in the front and back of the building.
Operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, according to officials at the meeting.
After two hours of presentations, community comments, and questions from the commission, the panel approved the SLUP and variances.
