Alachua Publix Marketplace and Family Dollar/AutoZone on track

ALACHUA – Publix, Family Dollar and AutoZone were given the green light for their respective projects in the city of Alachua. The City’s Planning and Zoning Board approved two site plans at their Nov. 18 meeting. The approvals mark the final review required by a board.

City staff and project developers presented plans for the Alachua Marketplace, which will be the Publix shopping center, as well as the proposed Family Dollar and AutoZone site.

The Alachua Marketplace will be located on NW U.S. Highway 441, northwest of 167^th Boulevard and adjacent to Santa Fe High School. A traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of NW U.S. 441 and 167^th Boulevard before Publix or any of the retailers in that development receive a certificate of occupancy.

After the developer installs the traffic signal, the maintenance and operation will be taken over by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

Answering concerns of congestion at U.S. 441 from a resident in nearby Heritage Oaks, a representative for the Publix developer assured citizens that the traffic light would be installed as soon as possible.

The proposed project includes a 56,431 square foot building with 46,031 square foot for use by Publix and the remaining 10,400 square feett designated for some eight retail bays.

The Family Dollar and AutoZone will be located on U.S. 441 directly across the street from the Hitchcock’s plaza in Alachua, and just south of the Oak Hill Plaza where Food Lion was formerly located.

The project site is currently home to a car wash and Tropical Sno snow cone stand, both of which will be demolished to make way for Family Dollar and AutoZone. The proposed Family Dollar will be 8,389 square feet and the AutoZone will be 6,816 square feet.

Family Dollar will be relocating from its current location in the Oak Hill Plaza to the new site. As part of Tuesday’s approval, the site plan calls for a slight westward shift in the access point on U.S. 441. According to City staff, the shift was a requirement of FDOT, which expressed concerns that the existing entrance for the car wash and snow cone stand is too close to the NW 144th Street intersection.

One Alachua resident expressed concerns that Family Dollar’s relocation from the Oak Hill Plaza would compound the likelihood of that plaza becoming dilapidated, especially since there is no occupant where former anchor tenant Food Lion was located.

Planning and Zoning Board member Virginia Johns said that the board would like to see Alachua grow.

“Hopefully there will be some businesses who are interested in the development, and we’d love to see it full as well,” she said.

Since the Alachua Market Place development and the Family Dollar and AutoZone development received their final site plan approvals, the only other City hurdle is a certificate of occupancy for each building, which is issued after a satisfactory building inspection.

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