Residents Like New Plan For Food Store Neighborhood Turned Away Tidyman’s Earlier
Plans unveiled Thursday to build a grocery store in the East Central neighborhood didn’t draw the same fire as the Tidyman’s proposal that died a year ago.
About 30 people attended a meeting at Sheridan Elementary School to discuss the possible effects of increased traffic created by the project.
Judy Hart said she and her family want to build a store on two blocks of property between Third and Fourth avenues, Thor and Ray streets, and lease it to an as-yet-unnamed grocery chain.
“We don’t have a tenant yet,” Hart said.
The project calls for changing the area’s land-use designation from residential to business and vacating an unpaved stretch of Ralph between Third and Fourth.
Residents asked traffic consultant Todd Whipple to study how the proposal would affect traffic on neighborhood side streets, as well as look at adding lanes along Third and Thor to ease access to the store.
Whipple was hired by Hart to do the proposal’s traffic study, which is required by the city.
Most residents said that, so far, they liked the project.
“It’s a lot better” than Tidyman’s plan, said Eva Schultz. “And it’s only two doors from my house.”
“I think they know if they do anything near what Tidyman’s did, they’d get trouble,” said Chris Cummings, who lives across the street from the Harts’ property.
Tidyman’s withdrew plans for a grocery store in June 1994 after haggling with residents about the project for more than two years.
“What came out of the Tidyman’s debate was that the neighborhood needs and wants a grocery store,” said Hart, who along with her family owns the 3.4 acres of land slated for the store. “That came out loud and clear.”
While the Tidyman’s project would have taken at least 37 homes, the Harts’ proposal only involves nine homes - and they own all of them.
The Harts’ plan also is much smaller - a 48,000-square-foot store as opposed to Tidyman’s original plans for a 107,000-square-foot store.
Whipple said he’ll address the neighborhood’s concerns when he drafts the study, which he’ll present at a second meeting later this month.
, DataTimes