A new grocery store and shopping center could be coming to an underdeveloped corner of Broadway, but only if the city approves new zoning for the site.
Plans call for a 60,000-square-foot grocery store and six smaller, 4,800-square-foot shops situated around a central parking lot at the southwest corner of Broadway and South Rosemont Boulevard.
The plans drew mixed reactions from neighbors at a city zoning examiner hearing Thursday evening.
Owner Andrew Romo and developer Tom Warne want to rezone about seven acres from residential to commercial zoning.
The shop facades would be made of bricks similar to those used in the surrounding neighborhoods to match the area’s character, Warne said.
He didn’t say what company would operate the grocery store.
The site currently holds a small strip mall, which would be demolished to make way for the new stores, and a seasonal Christmas tree and produce stand.
Some neighbors at the hearing said they support the project because it will improve property values and because it’s not two-story houses, which would be allowed under the current residential zoning.
“I think a grocery store in that neighborhood would be the greatest thing since we moved into the neighborhood in 1972. I’m all for it,” said Mary Riley, who lives in the area northeast of the project.
The Rosemont West Neighborhood Association agreed to support a project with a somewhat smaller scale. Different versions of the plans have made the grocery story bigger and taller, said president Barbara Stoddard.
Warne said he has attended about 20 meetings with the neighborhood.
The rezoning must have the approval of the mayor and City Council.
The zoning examiner also held a hearing for a project to turn a home near Saguaro National Park into a bed and breakfast for bicyclists. The owner, Thomas Danielson, is asking for a special exception to allow him to run the business from his home.
The project is not related to last year’s controversial plan for a larger “bicycle ranch” in the same area. While that plan called for 49 new rooms, this one allows for four existing rooms.
No additional development is planned for the B&B site, which is located on three acres at the northwest corner of Old Spanish Trail and Melpomene Way, near popular bicycling areas and a 10-minute bike ride away from Saguaro National Park.
The site isn’t in the middle of a neighborhood, and immediately behind the property is a cemetery “so there’s obviously minimal impact on those neighbors,” said attorney Pat Lopez.
The city planning department recommended approval of the project.
