New details for a proposed downtown Chattanooga Food City supermarket show a second-level mezzanine inside and a long canopy-covered area outside for farmers market-type uses.
The nearly 53,000-square-foot store would have a brick exterior with metal accents and sit near the corner of Broad and West 13th streets, according to plans submitted to the city's Form Based Code Committee, which will examine the proposal on Thursday.
The store site, which for many years held Carter Distributing Co., would offer 185 parking spaces south of the building toward Main Street. The common area canopy for weekend farmers markets would stretch nearly the length of the parking lot, plans show.
Bus stop seating, aimed to attract seniors and others who live downtown, along with bike racks are included under the canopy in the plans by Appalachia Design Services of Blountville, Tennessee. Also, a covered 1,120-square-foot exterior patio is included in the design of the store.
"It's proximity to downtown living makes this a pedestrian-friendly location, and its accessibility by bus will give even greater access for the downtown community and surrounding neighborhoods," said Emily Mack, chief executive of the downtown nonprofit redevelopment group River City Co.
The second-story mezzanine, unique among Food City stores in the Chattanooga area, would be 5,292 square feet in size, or well more than 10% of the ground level, according to plans.
The committee is slated to consider a number of requested modifications to city codes for the store, including an increase in street-facing building length from 250 feet to 266 feet, a proposal shows.
In addition, there's an increase sought in the parking count to the 185 spaces from 74. Additionally, an increase in the maximum height for a parapet wall from 6 feet tall to an undetermined measurement is sought. In all, at least 14 modifications are requested, the proposal shows.
Steve Smith, CEO of Abingdon, Virginia-based Food City, said last month that the company has heard from many of its downtown Chattanooga customers expressing the need for a new supermarket.
"We tried to listen to our customers – that's what good companies do – and we realized that with all the new buildings and occupants coming downtown, there was a demand for such a shop," he said. "We are very excited about the possibilities and I think this will be a unique opportunity for us."
Downtown's core has been without a grocery store since Buehler's Market closed in 2017 after 105 years. Even then, Buehler's on the 400 block of Market Street had a limited number of offerings.
The proposed full-service Food City supermarket would sit in the heart of Chattanooga's Southside, which has seen an array of new apartments and other housing.
Downtown Chattanooga developer Kevin Boehm said he's in favor of the proposed store.
"It should improve quality of life for the downtown residents and also home values while creating many jobs," he said.
Boehm said he has hoped for a higher quality store such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to land downtown.
"But any grocery should improve the area," he said.
Mack said there has been a longstanding need for a central city grocery store, "and we're excited to see that Food City is developing plans to open on Broad Street."
"River City Co. is currently working with Food City to help make this the best possible project for the Chattanooga community," she said.
Smith said existing facilities on the block would be demolished and new buildings erected. The one-block long parcel is sufficiently sized to hold ample parking for shoppers, he said.
Food City has a renovated store in St. Elmo, and Publix recently started work on a new supermarket in the South Broad District nearby. Also, Publix and Whole Foods have stores on Chattanooga's North Shore.
But with the recent building boom downtown, from the Tennessee River to Interstate-24 adding a slew of new rooftops with plans for more, the need for another grocery store has become keen among residents and developers.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.