Features at the new store include 465 parking spaces, 15 online pickup spaces, a pharmacy drive through and the gas station. It will be located at 601 Woodman Drive in Riverside.
The Kmart building has been abandoned for years. It is about 118,500-square-feet on about 11 acres.
“Demolishing the Kmart store, it’s going to provide safer access to the site,” said zoning consultant Anne McBride, of McBride Dale Clarion, a Cincinnati- based zoning and consulting company working with Kroger. “It’s going to be more aesthetically pleasing, not only just for the building and so forth but the landscaping that we’re putting out.”
Kroger plans to pull back some of the landscaping at the curb to accommodate plenty of parking spaces. However, the company plans to put in more trees and landscaping on the street, according to the plans presented on July 27.
Kroger plans to move the Woodman Drive parking lot entrance.
Riverside staff expressed some concerns about the lighting at the new Kroger extending past the boundaries of the parking lot and recommended the zoning board approve their lighting plan. The zoning board agreed.
When the new Kroger opens, stores on Spinning and Smithville roads will close, according to Kroger. No opening date has been set for the new store.
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