Developers for Gemini Real Estate told the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) Thursday an unnamed 45,000-square-foot grocery store and 10,000-square-foot strip mall is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Chris La Mack of Gemini Real Estate told GreerToday.com the grocery store, “is not a brand familiar to the area. I am not at liberty to disclose that information."
Kroger and Harris Teeter were two brands discussed after the meeting. A Kroger spokesperson said its brand does not fit the footprint of smaller sized stores. Harris Teeter, which averages 50,000-square feet for its stores, emailed its statement: “It is against our corporate policy to discuss stores unless we are currently operating at the location or have executed a lease for a future site. Harris Teeter has not executed a lease in Greer, SC.”
“This is fantastic news not only because we are seeing high volume but we are also seeing high quality,” said Reno Deaton, Executive Director of the Greer Development Corporation, who was at the PAC meeting.
“Look at the footprint of our community and that neighborhood and we see a great progression of single family homes, to townhouses and complementing commercial growth,” Deaton said.
Deaton was referring to three nearby housing developments with more than 200 more homes. planned.
Glenn Pace, Planning and Zoning Coordinator, said, “In that (Riverside) area there is little that surprises me. We targeted that area in our future land use.”
The site Gemini is developing was on Greer’s master plan in 2008 but its marketing ceased when the economy slowed.
When the grocery store is launched, Riverside High will be the only Greenville County school that has a brand grocery store virtually adjacent to it.
The 10,000-square-foot strip mall could be prime real estate for a restaurant to anchor that parcel, La Mack said. But no tenants were mentioned at PAC since the project is in its infancy.
Harris Teeter is headquartered in Matthews, N.C. with 10 South Carolina stores, the closest in Rock Hill and most in the lower part of the state. Cincinnati-based Kroger acquired Harris Teeter in a $2.5 billion acquisition that is scheduled to close Feb. 1. Management of both companies will meet next month to discuss the grocery chain’s business plan for 2014.