The new Kroger location?
Rumor on the street is that Kroger has given up on Wayne and Wyoming, and is now looking at Fifth and Wayne- at the old Supply One site.
Once proposed as a location for Fifth Third Field- the site could be assembled out of a lot fewer parcels. While not exactly a great walking location for anyone but the Oregon District and the Cannery, it would still be a nice piece in the Downtown Development program (oh, excuse me for suggesting that it would be “downtown”).
What this means for the poor folks in the now really blighted Wayne and Wyoming area is that you are totally screwed. The Ecki building may have a last chance at salvation, but, unfortunately- the old Supply One building which I always thought would make great lofts- will now bite the dust.
This is the old Farmers Freind building, I bet.
Nothing new for the folks at Wayne and Wyoming. Seems like all the investment in Dayton goes to the monied already.
So the rumors continue – and we still wait for facts from the Commission & City Hall. Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath waiting for it but the City Manager assures me “communication will begin in a couple of weeks”.
This could be a good site for the downtown market – an amenity the residents down there have been craving for a long time. I’m still not sure Oregon is going to want a big box that close to them. And I worry about the infrastructure & traffic patterns being able to accommodate it. Stivers will be reopening soon which will also add to the congestion. You’ll never be able to widen 5th Street through the Oregon – the buildings are too close to the street.
It could just be a negotiation tactic to break the resolve of the hold-outs in Twin Towers. If they think their golden goose is about to migrate elsewhere, they may finally wise up and agree to terms with Midland Atlantic allowing the project there to move forward.
If that’s not the case and Kroger/Midland does move to 5th & Wayne, what becomes a suitable replacement development for Wayne & Wyoming??
The downtown market site..as in produce and such… would be the Arcade rotunda. That’s what that part of the Arcade was built for…to be a downtown market.
I agree with Theresa- it could be a negotiation tactic- but, what concerns me most is that since we don’t know who the hold outs are- what the demands are- we can’t apply pressure to move things forward.
Does Kroger really need 80K sq ft? Do we really need a Kroger gas station? What if we cut the parking requirements- and built on a smaller footprint? How about a 2 level parking deck- and or a 2 level Kroger (in high rent places this happens all the time).
Kroger at Fifth and Wayne? Hmm..interesting thought. As a resident of Oregon, I would welcome an appropriate development such as Kroger there. Especially if we could work out something with them where the Kroger parking lots could be used after business hours to provide much needed parking at the west end of the District. As well, being less parcels to deal with, it would probably be an easier feat to accomplish for Kroger than the Wayne / Wyoming location.