Cumming Mega-Kroger Clears County Hurdle

The intersection of Bethelview and Castleberry roads in Cumming is one step closer to housing a gigantic Kroger grocery store following a Forsyth County planning commission meeting on Tuesday.

Commissioners unanimously approved the altered plans submitted by Kroger, which saw the addition of design elements meant to fit in with the ambiance of the area, lowering the project eight feet below the roadway to partially hide it from motorists, and a variance to keep most of the store parking in front of the building, Forsyth County News reports.

Plans call for the conversion of 26.958 acres of land near a 141,000 sq. ft. grocery store, an 18-pump fuel station, and over 650 parking spaces.

In a Sept. 2 staff report, the county arborist advocated for the implementation of “undisturbed tree save areas into the planning and development of the site” to allow the developers to meet the required tree density set forth by the county. Additionally, the arborist cautioned that “[a]pproving the variance to eliminate the required evergreen screening will significantly open the view of the parking lot up as observer from the road frontages;”

County water and sewer staff cautioned that the proposed development would tax the sewer capacity in the area and any improvements needed to a nearby pump station to serve the new store would need to be built at Kroger’s expense.