A Greenville, S.C.-based developer wants to build a Kroger-anchored shopping center, New Holland Market, off Limestone and Jesse Jewell parkways in Gainesville.Carolina Holdings, hoping to build a Kroger Marketplace, “tells us this will be the first concept of its kind in Georgia,” said Rusty Ligon, Gainesville’s community development director, on Thursday.“The mix of products that they will offer will be diverse. About 80 percent of the store will be for groceries and 20 percent will be for other (merchandise).”The property owner, Pacolet Milliken Enterprises Inc., is seeking annexation of the 68-acre site, which covers property north and south of Jesse Jewell, with the proposal going before the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board at 5:30 p.m. May 8.The store will be 123,000 square feet, with the shopping center covering 287,000 square feet overall, Ligon said.The developer also is planning outparcels north and south of Jesse Jewell, sites that would “be likely for restaurants,” he added.“We do not know of any other retailers at this point” planned for the site, Ligon said.Grading work could begin in September, with construction starting in February.The project also features a new road north of Jesse Jewell connecting Limestone to White Sulphur Road, with a traffic light on the Limestone end. Also, a new road would be built between that connector and Jesse Jewell, as well as a new road looping between Limestone and White Sulphur south of Jesse Jewell.And the development also would feature a driveway to the shopping center off Limestone, just before the new signalized intersection, that would allow only right turns in and out of the property.“The developers wanted this (shopping center) to tie in with the existing New Holland Mill, so you’ll see architectural features on these buildings that pick up on some of those elements of the mill,” Ligon said.Neither Kroger nor Carolina Holdings corporate officials could be reached for comment Thursday.Pacolet is seeking a “planned unit development” zoning designation, “with a heavy focus on commercial development (but) not excluding professional office facilities, lodging services and multifamily residential,” according to a city planning document.The property also is just west of Interstate 985.“This is something we have been anticipating coming into the city for some time,” Ligon said.
Large Kroger shopping center planned for New Holland