Lidl, the largest discount grocery chain in Europe, is coming to Wake Forest on the 5-acre site in the southwest corner of the N.C. 98 Bypass and South Main Street. A contractor began cutting the trees on the site Monday and lumbering was continuing Wednesday.
The Gazette reported on Lidl’s (rhymes with needle) plans in early March about the same time the grocer’s U.S. operations office in Arlington, Virginia, was closing the purchase of the land from Wake Forest surveyor Graham Cawthorne (ASB Partnership) for $1.4 million, according to the Wake County Revenue Department’s website.
Aside from the clearing and the purchase, nothing has changed from March. Assistant Planning Director Charlie Yokley said then and said again this week that the site plans have been approved been approved but the 36,000-square-foot building needs approval from the town’s Design Review Advisory Board. The building permit cannot be issued until that board signs off on the design and construction features.
“The Design Review Board had issues with the original design of the building and asked the applicant to make some specific revisions,” Yokley said Tuesday. “Those revisions have not been made yet. We’re still waiting on the architect to submit revised plans addressing the original DRB comments.”
The property 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 – more than 500 peak-hour trips – to require a traffic study, Yokley said in March. Because it meets those conditions, the store does not need approval from the planning board or town board.
It will not have full access entrances/exits on the two roads. Instead there will be two right-in/right-out entrances/exits, one on each road.
This week a Lidl representative would not say if the Wake Forest store is the first in North Carolina or the Triangle. If it is first it will soon be joined by a host of stores in North Carolina.
Raleigh was saying in April that it would have the first store, this one at 4308 Wake Forest Road near a McDonald’s and around the corner from a Wal-Mart Supercenter on New Hope Road but there has been no announcement about construction or even building plan approval. Cary also has a site at the corner of North Harrison Avenue and Grand Heights Drive. The Wilson Planning and Zoning Board gave approval earlier in August to an amended architectural plan for their city’s Lidl store. And farther down east at least three counties are confident they will see Lidl stores along with Aldi and Publix very soon. There are plans for two Lidl stores in Burlington, and Lidl plans a regional headquarters and distribution center in Mebane.
Back in March Yokley said, “Lidl is coming to the U.S. in a big way with 600 to 700 stores.” The U.S. website is currently asking for building sites from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
The German chain keeps prices low by selling many of its own products. A look at the Lidl UK site shows it offers a lot more than groceries: clothing, garden tools including lawnmowers, gadgets, wine and lots of candy. There are over 10,000 stores in 26 European 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.
4 Responses
Another complete tree clearing operation underway in Wake Forest. Did someone ever think to approve a site plan with restrictions on mature tree removals ? At this rate, the forest will disappear in Wake Forest. Traffic considerations ? Not an issue, let the public figure it out…It will be interesting to see cars enter and exit with traffic going 55 MPH.
Town of Wake Forest has become one big outdoor shopping mall.Discusting.
Agreed, we are ruining our nature forests.
We will need traffic lights at cimmaron Parkway and to reduce speed limits on 98
“Right in-Right out” from both roads? That would mean a whole heap of u-turns somewhere when Jack or Jill Customer wants to go back home. And has there been no consideration for reducing the “official” 55 mph speed limit? Is this the next ” Build now, say OOPs later” project? Sounds to me like there needs to be just a ‘LIDL’ bit more thought to this proposal!