Director of Engineering Allen Messer since moving the store shifts traffic to North Brookwood Avenue, his staff is reviewing the Kroger traffic study “to determine how the shift in traffic needs to be accommodated.”
“Signal timing and pavement markings will need to be changed at the Main Street and North Brookwood and Eaton Avenue and North Brookwood intersections,” he said, adding that a new traffic signal is likely on Nort Brookwood for better access entering and exiting the property.
As for how traffic will be affected at Main Street and NW Washington Boulevard, where the current Kroger is located, Messer said when a tenant backfills that store, “we will evaluate how their traffic impacts the network.”
The city of Hamilton announced in February Kroger submitted plans to move the store at 1474 Main St. to 182 N. Brookwood Ave., which is on the north end of the road in the plaza some Hamiltonians still call Hamilton West plaza or the Brookwood Shopping Center.
Kroger will construct on an 11.66-acre parcel a nearly 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace with a 14-pump fuel center and a 485-spot parking lot. The grocer plans to employ 325 full- and part-time associates.
The new store would feature enhanced produce, bakery, deli and meat departments, as well as a Starbucks, Murray’s Cheese and home goods, according to the plans.
This Kroger project would not affect the Kroger store on South Erie Boulevard (Ohio 4) that services the city’s east side, Anne McBride, a principal with McBride Dale Clarion, planning and zoning consulting firm, previously told the city.
When City Council unanimously approved the project at its April 9 meeting, the only comment the board said came from Mayor Pat Moeller: “We can all say, ‘Thank you, Kroger.‘”
Submittal to approval took two months, but Kroger hasn’t said how long it could take to construct. In February, the company said it was in the process to acquire the two properties that make up the 11.66-acre development. No transactions have been recorded as of Monday with the Butler County Auditor’s Office.
The grocer will own most of the plaza, which features a storage company, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Wendy’s, and a Gold Star Chili is being constructed on the site.
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