Kroger moving from longtime Hughes Road location to Brownsferry–Wall-Triana intersection
The signage is up, and word is now official that Kroger will move from Hughes Road to a rezoned property east of Wall-Triana and north of Brownsferry Road. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – City officials are finally speaking on specifics for the plans for the recently rezoned 20-acre field at the intersection of Wall-Triana Highway and Brownsferry Road.
The parcel of land will host, eventually, a new “super Kroger,” as described by District 1 City Councilman Tim Holcombe. The 102,000 square-foot store will replace the one on Hughes Road, which has been in its present location since the late 1980s.
“Kroger knew that lease was going to [end],” District 4 Councilman Mike Potter said. “They knew they were not going to renew it, so they hired the Sembler Company to find them a new location.”
Sembler Company already has its footprint on Madison, as it is partnering with the Lennar Corporation to develop the Town Madison retail development just west of Zierdt Road.
The 20-acre parcel of land, which was rezoned August 2014 amid several protests from citizens living near the area, will house the Kroger supercenter and inline retail, similar to the small businesses adjacent to the Kroger on Hughes Road. Potter also said the property will contain 2–4 stand-along buildings – one of which will be Kroger’s gas station.
In addition to developing the property, Sembler is spending $3 million upfront on infrastructure improvements around the parcel of land, including am east-west road that will connect Wall-Triana and Plaza Boulevard.
The City of Madison will split excess sales tax money with Sembler for 12 years, or until the $3 million is paid in full – whichever comes first.
“If 12 years passes and they’re looking at $1.5 million, they’re going to lose $1.5 million,” Potter said of the risk possibility for Sembler.
The property will open by the end of 2016 at the earliest, Holcombe said, though he added it is a rough estimate.
“We won’t know until they actually get closer [to the completion date],” Holcombe said. “It won’t be this year.”
There are no plans on what will replace the Kroger on Hughes Road. State Farm Insurance owns the present property.
