West Chester Township approves new Marketplace Kroger plan

Sue Kiesewetter
·2 min read

WEST CHESTER TWP. – A Kroger Marketplace will soon anchor the West Chester Plaza.

The 122,910-square-foot store will replace the existing Kroger on Tylersville Road built in 1987 which at 66,523 square feet, is nearly half the size of the new planned structure.

Along with the grocery store, two retail buildings totaling 24,292 square feet will be built as part of the $50 million project on the 24.6-acre site, located at the southeast corner of Tylersville and Cox roads.

There are no tenants yet for the two planned retail buildings, said Jon Beer, Regency Center’s developer manager.

“I’m glad that everybody got together on this, and I’m grateful that it’s worked out this way and I’m looking forward to seeing the product,’’ West Chester Township Trustee Mark Welch said.

The board of trustees then approved a zone change and the plan for the project.

The Kroger Marketplace will feature a pharmacy with a drive-thru lane, a Murray’s Cheese and a Starbucks, along with apparel and a kitchen place, according to plans. There will be nine fuel islands with 18 pumps.

To address concerns raised at an August public hearing:

  • Trash compaction and outdoor demolition will be restricted to within the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

  • A sound-absorbing screening wall will be added to a landscape mound near loading docks.

  • A circulating fountain will be added to the detention pond.

Trustee Lee Wong added that this was a very complicated development, and he's very pleased that all the parties worked together to make this happen.

Earlier this year, Kroger purchased the township’s former activity center and the 3-plus acres it sits on. The center closed four years ago after the nonprofit Community First declined to renew its lease to manage the township’s former center.

Since then, several offers to purchase the activity center fell through and the building sat empty.

Kroger officials will now prepare detailed plans for the project and once they are approved, a timeline for demolition of the activities center and construction of the new store will be created, said Lynn Howitz, Kroger’s construction engineer.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Kroger building West Chester Marketplace store on activity center site