Feb. 16—A Marietta grocery store slated for closure on Powers Ferry Road may be razed and replaced with apartments and new retail, pending approval from the city.

Atlanta-based developer William Casaday, under the company WC Acquisitions, is requesting a rezoning from the city to build 322 apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail at the site of the old Kroger at the corner of Powers Ferry and Delk roads.

The 50,000-square-foot grocery store is slated for closure, as Kroger is building a new store just down the street in the Marketplace Terrell Mill shopping center. Once the new store is complete (scheduled for this spring), the old one, built in 1982, will be shuttered.

In order for WC to redevelop the property, the city of Marietta will have to rezone it from a commercial category to a mixed-use category. The Marietta Planning Commission, a board which advises the City Council on zoning matters, is scheduled to hear the proposal at its March 1 meeting.

The property is the furthest east within the city limits, surrounded on most sides by unincorporated Cobb County.

WC's proposal calls for a five-story apartment building, which would be 65% one-bedrooms and 35% two-bedrooms. It would also build 7,000 square feet of amenities, including a gym, pool, club and meeting areas, a dog park and a leasing office. The project's density would be 67 units per acre.

There would also be 27 surface parking spots, as well as a 485-space, 6.5-level parking deck for tenants.

"WC's proposed plan seeks to reinvigorate this section of both the Delk Road and Terrell Mill corridors, respectively; will provide much-needed residential rooftops to support existing and proposed retail uses within this sub-area; and, will upgrade this area by providing the new residents with enhanced and desirable options and amenities, and is located adjacent to existing shopping and/or dining opportunities," wrote Garvis Sams, an attorney for the developer, in the rezoning application.

Sams argued the site of the old Kroger doesn't make sense for future big-box retail development, citing market saturation in the grocery space (a Publix is right across the street) and the decline of brick-and-mortar stores due to online shopping.

City zoning staff gave the proposal high marks in their review of the plan.

The development, staff noted, is supported by the city's comprehensive plan. It also "utilizes brownfield (already developed) land rather than consuming undeveloped terrain and contributing to sprawl." A traffic study incorporated in the plan found that traffic will "at least remain constant once built, if not be improved."

"In this sense, the proposed development meets the purpose and intent of the parcel's mixed-use zoning designation," staff wrote.

The new Kroger down the street will be double the size of the old one and anchor MarketPlace Terrell Mill, a $120 million mixed-use development being built near the corner of Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry roads.

The grocer broke ground on the new 90,000-square-foot store last March.

The 24-acre MarketPlace Terrell Mill project also includes a Panera Bread, a Regions bank, a Wendy's, an Extra Space Storage facility, a dentistry practice and nearly 300 apartments.

The new Kroger is being built on the site formerly occupied by Brumby Elementary School before it moved to a new campus on Terrell Mill Road near Terrell Mill Park.

The Development Authority of Cobb County in 2018 approved the issuance of $35 million in revenue bonds for the new grocery store. Under that plan, the development authority took the title to the property, removing it from the tax rolls. Kroger paid no taxes on the improved property during the first year, with payment increasing each year until it reaches 100% after 11 years.