Yahoo Finance Aldi plans another store for Orange County. Here’s where the new grocery will go.
A grocery approved Wednesday for a vacant lot next to the Sheetz gas station on N.C. 86 in Hillsborough will bring a new, low-cost shopping option to the area.
The Hillsborough Board of Adjustment unanimously approved the Aldi grocery store after resolving multiple exceptions to town rules. They included the amount and location of parking, the number of windows, and whether large posters of fruits and vegetables in the store windows should be considered signs.
“I personally look forward to y’alls store opening and having another option for shopping within our community,” board Chair Bill Harris told Todd Bonnett, Aldi’s director of real estate, and his team after the more than two-hour meeting.
It could be the Germany-based grocer’s first location in Orange County, depending on how quickly the store can be built and opened.
Store also planned for Chapel Hill
Another 25,530-square-foot Aldi was approved in June at the Eastgate Crossing shopping center on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. However, crews have not yet started to renovate the former Stein Mart storefront to create the grocery.
The Hillsborough store is approved for 19,209 square feet with 96 parking spaces and room for future expansion.
The 2.6-acre site, near the intersection of N.C. 86 and Interstate 85, is surrounded by other commercial development, including Walmart and Home Depot across the street in the Hampton Pointe shopping center.
The project also will add a sidewalk on the east side of N.C. 86, and a pedestrian crossing could be built across N.C. 86 to Hampton Pointe.
No additional street improvements are planned, however, the N.C. Department of Transportation is anticipating improvements to the I-85 interchange in the future, which could ease the sometimes congested conditions.
Paliouras Enterprises LLC owns the 25-acre commercial site anchored by Sheetz and is considering other businesses, including retail, restaurants and a hotel. The town has identified the site and the surrounding area for future commercial development.
The latest construction is adding a new Hillsborough Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram auto dealership and service center approved for the site in 2019. The dealership will relocate from its longtime home at 259 S. Churton St. to a 5.39-acre parcel behind Sheetz.
Hillsborough annexed the Paliouras site in 2019, when the town board also approved a master plan and zoning for its future development. That decision means new stores and businesses only need to get an approved special-use permit from the Board of Adjustment.
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