First, discount barebones grocer Aldi found Wake Forest’s South Main Street and now its major European competitor, Germany-based Lidl (LEE-dul, rhymes with needle), already has preliminary approval from the town’s planning department to build a 36,000-square-foot store in the southwest corner of the intersection of South Main and the N.C. 98 Bypass (Dr. Calvin Jones Highway). There is a cleared area on that site on the South Main side but the remainder of the site supports a heavy growth of large pines.
Assistant Planning Director Charlie Yokley said Wednesday, “The construction plan has been approved. Site work could start at any time,” though he said he did not know Lidl’s construction schedule. The building permit has not been issued and will not be until after the building’s design has been approved by the Design Review Advisory Board, which is meeting tomorrow, March 10, at 4 p.m. in the ground floor training room in Wake Forest Town Hall. Along with the Lidl building, the board will consider the plan for the Legacy Wake Forest apartment complex with 298 units that has been approved for a wooded site bounded by Durham Road, Debarmore Street and the bypass.
The property in question for Lidl is owned by Graham Cawthorne (ASB Partnership) and is almost five acres in one large and three small parcels that were appraised for tax value by the Wake County Department of Revenue at just over $1 million. It is already zoned for business, the size of the store is in keeping with the usual retail size, and the store will not generate enough traffic – over 500 peak-hour trips – to require a traffic study. Because of the above, the store does not need approval from the planning or town boards.
Lidl “is coming to the U.S. in a big way with 600 to 700 stores,” Yokley said. Wake Forest’s “will be one of the first store but it won’t be for very long.” Lidl’s U.S. website is currently devoted to soliciting building sites in its targeted area along the east coast from Pennsylvania down to Georgia and to asking for vendors. The chain keeps costs low by selling its own brands of many goods.
Lidl’s U.S. website says the grocery chain needs a minimum of 3.5 acres to accommodate the building and space to park 150 cars, a full-access high-visibility intersection with traffic signals, dense population within three miles, traffic counts of more than 20,000 vehicles per day and current zoning for grocery retail use. The only departure in Wake Forest from these stipulations will be that there will be two right-in, right-out entrances/exits, one on the bypass and one on South Main, where a curb cut exists. Parking will be on the side of the building toward South Main and on the south side toward existing houses.
A look at the Lidl UK site shows it offers a lot more than groceries: clothing (denim is featured this month), garden tools including lawnmowers, gadgets, wine and lots of candy. There are over 10,000 stores in 26 countries. The site says the store design is to “deliver the highest quality product at the lowest possible price and the most efficient shopping experience possible.” A picture from a UK or European store shows goods still on pallets for easy display and removal.
