A variety of retail stores will be located off Bill Gardner Parkway, part of a planned retail shopping center at the intersection with State Route 155. (Locust Grove Development LLC Photo)
Henry County commissioners have approved the first portion of a proposed grocery store shopping center. The board approved this in September. A second zone change request for the project will need to be considered at a later date. The 29-acre property is located at State Route 155 and Bill Gardner Parkway.
Bill Gardner Parkway Grocery Store
MHF News first reported in June that a new grocery store was being considered for SR 155 on Bill Gardner Parkway. It will be across the street from the existing Publix shopping center.
On September 17, the Henry County BOC considered the first part of the applicant’s rezoning request. Specifically, we considered whether to rezone 11.7 acres from RA to C-2 (general commercial). Requests exceeded retail stores and restaurants.
Photo courtesy of Locust Grove Development, LLC.
There are six outparcels in the site plan. Four sites are labeled for retail use. The last two sites are labeled “Tire Store” and “Restaurant.” The site plan also includes a gas station. The outparcel will be located north of Bill Gardner Parkway and east of State Route 155.
Locust Grove Development, LLC provided various building renderings upon request. They were Buffalo Wild Wings, Wendy’s, Whataburger, Discount Tire, Tractor Supply, and Piedmont Urgent Care. It has not been confirmed whether all or any of these companies are considering this site.
The board approved the rezoning request 5-0. Commissioner Anglin was absent. There are several conditions for commercial use zones. Perhaps most notable are the various prohibited uses. Prohibited uses include:
Pawn shops or loan brokers, excluding mortgage brokers, tattoo parlors, body piercing shops, vape and/or e-cig shops, laundromats, nail salons, automobiles/car washes, and vehicle or equipment rentals as a primary use.
Other conditions require the property to meet the architectural and streetscape standards of the Highway Corridor Overlay District. These standards address building facades, landscaping and pedestrian streets. Finally, there may be no structures within the runway protection zone of the adjacent Mallard’s Landing runway.
next step
The county must consider the second part of the rezoning request before the project can be built. This is because part of the site is designated as an industrial zone. Approximately three acres of land on the north side of the proposed development has M-1 zoning. The applicant requests that this be changed to C-2.
The Zoning Advisory Commission is scheduled to consider the zoning change request in October. They will meet on Thursday, October 10th at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, requests for changes from development standards will be considered.
The commission will next consider the rezoning request. The request was made public for the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, October 15th. County commissioners will meet at the county administration building in McDonough.
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master site planning
Click to enlarge (Photo by Locust Grove Development, LLC)
The master plan for Bill Gardner Parkway includes a 118,337-square-foot grocery store. The building size and site layout are similar to Kroger Marketplace. The company opened its first Kroger Marketplace in Henry County this spring. There are other grocery stores in McDonough and Stockbridge. If confirmed, this would be Kroger’s first Locust Grove store.
The project has a total of three vehicle entrances. Those include two locations off State Route 155 to align with the existing entrance to the Publix shopping center. The site plan shows a traffic light at the northernmost entrance. Developers will first need approval from the state Department of Transportation to install the signal. The reason is that it is located along the national highway. Additionally, there is an entrance just off Bill Gardner Parkway.
Finally, two more outdoor lots and ancillary retail space complete the site plan.
Featured image shows the Bill Gardner Parkway Grocery Outparcel. Photo by Locust Grove Development LLC.
