By Anna Skinner
The Zionsville Plan Commission delayed a vote Aug. 17 on development plans for a Fresh Fare by Kroger grocery store, asking petitioner Steve Pittman of Pittman Partners to come back next month with a few changes.
The south side of the proposed 60,755-square-foot building faces an area that could possibly be developed with apartments. The commission requested that Pittman and his team add more vegetation, landscaping and detail to make that side more visually appealing for any future complex’s residents.
“We need to have a dialogue about things that we would like to see if you can do it and come back in September and try to tie up a lot of the loose ends that we have here,” Allan Rachles, plan commission president, said. “This is one of the biggest, most visible projects the town has ever had, so we aren’t looking at this as just a grocery store.”
The site is on the southwest corner of Michigan Road and Sycamore Street on land long owned by Pittman’s family known as “The Farm.”
“We wanted a kind of rustic type of elevation, but we didn’t want a silo or barns,” Pittman said, explaining that he wanted to keep the farm feel of the property with the Fresh Fare building. “Brent (with CS Architects) was very good at finally coming up with something that everybody was happy with.”
When it is finished, Zionsville’s Fresh Fare by Kroger is expected to slightly resemble the renovated Kroger on Range Line Road in Carmel. It will include patio seating, a second floor mezzanine, electric car charging stations and an opportunity for shoppers to order groceries online.
Pittman is expected to present revised plans to the commission at its Sept. 21 meeting.
