A plan to expand the Braelinn Kroger grocery store by nearly 43,000 sq. ft. was approved by the Peachtree City Planning Commission Monday night.
The store will also be renovated on the inside to make room for a Starbucks bistro, a sushi bar, a salad bar and other expanded services for customers along with wider aisles, a company official told the commission.
There was some haggling prior to approval as Planning Commissioner Lynda Wojcik said she didn’t like that the store would eliminate some trees on the western side of the building to make room for about 10 parking spaces. Wojcik said her main concern was protecting the store from view of people who drive along the adjacent cart path.
The end result was that the parking spaces were removed from the plan so the area could remain landscaped.
Approval from the planning commission is only one step in the process, as the store also needs a nod from the Peachtree City Council because a special use permit is necessary for the development. That process was put in place several years ago to help the city control the size of large stores.
Council is slated to vote on the SUP application at its Feb. 7 meeting.
If the SUP is approved, the expansion would bring the Kroger’s size to about 123,000 sq. ft.
Kroger plans to extend its front architecture around about 100 feet on both sides of the store to make it more attractive, a company official said.
