George Pack

From Staff Reports

Asheville’s Technical Review Committee on Jan. 3 approved — on conditions still to be worked out — a proposal for a new 45,000-square foot Harris Teeter supermarket along Merrimon Avenue, just northwest of its intersection with Chestnut Street.

The former Deal Motor Cars property — 136 Merrimon Avenue — has been at the center of heated development debates over the past several years, after property owners proposed building more than 300 housing units, a 150-room hotel and retail and office space in 2007.

Harris Teeter, a somewhat-upscale grocery chain, likely will open in 2013, according to company officials. The project is in the planning stages now, they noted. Harris Teeter stores are known for their wide aisles, friendly staff and luxurious layout — all intended to provide customers with a pleasant shopping experience.

The city Planning Department confirmed in July that it had been approached by The Carolina Group Partners LLC about plans to build a store on the property, although no formal plans have yet been submitted.

Preliminary plans reportedly call for the store to be located close to the Merrimon side of the 7.5-acre property and the retention of an old wall at the back of the property separating it from nearby homes. Developers would add a middle turn lane and a traffic light at Merrimon’s intersection with Broad Street, as well as a covered bus stop, city officials said.

The store will be mostly a brick structure located near the Merrimon Avenue/Chestnut intersection, with parking to the west of the building. One entrance would be on Chestnut and the other on Merrimon at its intersection with Broad Street.

If the plan is approved by the state Department of Transportation, the Charlotte-based development company in the project would install turn lanes and a traffic signal at the Merrimon/Broad intersection. DOT has a say in the plan because Merrimon is part of the state highway system.

However, city officials say DOT approval is not automatic because the new signal would be close to an existing one.

Local streets would be able to handle the additional traffic, if improvements suggested by developers are built, a study indicates.

The home of George Pack, a city benefactor, was situated on the property years ago, and some residents have advocated that developers strive to preserve some of the few remaining features there, such as retaining walls.

Other groceries already located on Merrimon include Greenlife Grocery, owned by Whole Foods, Fresh Market; and Ingles, headquartered in Black Mountain.

At present, Harris Teeter has just one store in Buncombe County — at 1378 Hendersonville Road near the Blue Ridge Parkway.