This aerial photo, taken on July 11, 2024, shows the Kroger grocery store (center, left) at Riverwalk Plaza in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. By late 2025, officials hope that a planned Kroger Marketplace store will open across MacCorkle Avenue in the under-construction Park Place shopping center development (shown at right).
This aerial photo, taken on July 11, 2024, shows the Kroger grocery store (center, left) at Riverwalk Plaza in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. By late 2025, officials hope that a planned Kroger Marketplace store will open across MacCorkle Avenue in the under-construction Park Place shopping center development (shown at right).
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Mayor Frank Mullens Jr. said Kroger plans to break ground on its new Marketplace-style grocery store at the Park Place development on MacCorkle Avenue on April 1, 2025.
“It’ll be the only Marketplace in the state of West Virginia,†he said Thursday during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Starbucks at Park Place.
Mullens said the Park Place development should also see a Menard’s home improvement store break ground around the same time.
“Menard’s paid $7 million to buy the property,†he said. “There’s no question they’re coming.â€
This is an artist’s rendering of the new Park Place retail development in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Courtesy photo
Proper site preparation critical
Mullens said the development — on the site of a former fly ash pond — is in its final phase of site preparation.
“You see those surcharge piles of dirt? Those are where the actual buildings are going to be and what the dirt is doing is it’s simulating the weight of a building,†he explained.
A surcharge pile is a temporary dirt mound that mimics the weight of a new building on top of fill material. The purpose of a surcharge pile is to consolidate fill material that may not have been compacted properly. The pile is monitored for ground settlement while in place, the mayor said.
While the site will be ready in December, Mullens said construction projects rarely begin in the winter.
“They will all start in April in the spring,†he said. “All the compaction issues will be pretty much settled.â€
A woman walks across the Kroger grocery store parking lot in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä on Feb. 2, 2024.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail file photo
“No employees will lose their job,†Mullens said. “They will all transfer to the new store and there could also be additional jobs with a Kroger Marketplace.â€
Mullens said the city is already in talks to fill the Kroger space at Riverwalk Plaza.
“That’s been a big pet peeve of mine as well. I don’t want Kroger just moving across the street to be a Kroger,†he said. “If we’re gonna do this one, I wanted it to be a Marketplace. And let’s backfill the old Kroger space at Riverwalk Plaza. It doesn’t do us any good to have an empty spot over there. I’ve been insisting on that since day one.â€
Mullens believes the new Park Place shopping center and Riverwalk Plaza will create a shopping hub in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
“There’s no question they will help each other bring in shoppers,†he said. “It’s already starting to help bring more customers to Riverwalk Plaza. As more stores are built at Park Place it is going to continue to overflow to Riverwalk Plaza and there’s no question about it.â€
Mullens said the Park Place shopping center will have at least 20 tenants, once completed.
“I can’t disclose anything at this time, but other tenants are lining up as expected,†he said. “As for others we will announce at the appropriate time.â€
The April groundbreaking date for the new Kroger Marketplace was first reported by WCHS-TV.
Fred Pace is the regional business reporter for HD Media. Follow him at Facebook.com/FredPaceHD
