Construction on a new shopping center outside Fort Gordon, anchored by a Kroger Marketplace supermarket, is scheduled to conclude by spring 2024.

Local development officials joined Kroger executives Monday morning to turn the first ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt for Eisenhower Crossing, near the corner of Jimmie Dyess Parkway and Harper Franklin Avenue.

The project represents a $32 million investment that will create between 250 and 300 jobs, according to Victor Smith, president of The Kroger Co.'s Atlanta Division, who spoke briefly at the groundbreaking.

Wrecking ball:Kroger to close 15th Street store

New development:New Kroger, possibly Marketplace, headed for Jimmie Dyess Parkway in Augusta

District 3 Augusta Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight said her constituents have been asking for a supermarket in her district since she took office in 2021. The district borders both Fort Gordon and Columbia County.

"We’ll bring money here to Richmond County. I look forward to coming out here and shopping,” she said. “This is the fastest-growing area in Richmond County, so I look forward to seeing lots of good things happening here.”

The 124,000-square-foot Kroger will include an adjacent fuel center and a drive-through pharmacy. It also will include a store-within-a-store, Murray’s Cheese, which expands the supermarket’s deli offerings. Kroger bought the iconic Murray’s New York City-based brand in 2017, and has since opened Murray’s locations inside at least 1,000 Krogers.

The new Kroger also will feature belted self-checkout stations, which the supermarket chain began testing at stores in Ohio last year. The stations resemble standard self-checkouts, where shoppers scan in their own merchandise for purchase, but after the items’ price codes are swiped, a conveyor belt moves the items to bagging stations where store clerks can bag the groceries.

The supermarket will anchor a commercial development that includes four outparcels – three that are an acre each and another that is 1.5 acres – that are suited for restaurant, retail or office development, according to Chris Senn, senior vice president of Southeastern Development Associates, which is helping oversee the project.

Already included in the initial Kroger development is a pair of stores labeled “Shops A” and “Shops B” on the plans. While no specific business is identified for either store, each building measures 5,400 square feet and shows access for a drive-through window.

Two restaurants have shown interest in the Shops spaces, Senn said, and the outparcels, which have just recently began being marketed, have attracted prospective developers as well.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: New Kroger near Fort Gordon scheduled for spring 2024 completion