Publix is anchor of plan for Fort Oglethorpe shopping center

New unit would give grocer its sixth store in the Chattanooga area

Supermarket chain Publix is looking at growing its Chattanooga area footprint again with a possible store in Fort Oglethorpe.

A Publix store would anchor a new shopping center at the corner of Battlefield Parkway and Dietz Road, according to development plans.

David Holcombe, a broker for the real estate firm Crossman & Co., said Publix hasn’t signed a lease in the proposed Fort Oglethorpe center yet, but there are hopes to finalize the deal in the next two to three weeks.

Plans are for the new store, estimated at about 40,000 square feet in size, to open in summer 2018, he said.

Also, the development firm, which he wouldn’t immediately name, would build about 15,000 square feet of other space at the center.

“We haven’t signed any leases, but we’ve got quite a few people interested,” Holcombe said.

The small spaces could range in size from 1,400 to 6,000 square feet, plans show.

Publix did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the project.

The site is located on the major Battlefield Parkway retail corridor that holds a Walmart, Marshalls, and Bealls Outlet relatively close by. Nearly 20,000 vehicles per day go by the development site, according to the broker.

Chattanooga developer Larry Armour, who is active in North Georgia, said he’s not involved in the Publix project though he understands why the grocer wants to be in that market.

“North Georgia is thriving,” he said. “It’s a great regional market.”

Armour foresees even more

neighborhood center construction in that area.

“We’re planning more development down there also,” he said, adding he plans to build more medical office space.

A possible Publix store in Fort Oglethorpe would give the Lakeland, Fla.-based chain its sixth supermarket in metropolitan Chattanooga. Currently, the grocery chain has stores in North Chattanooga, Hixson, East Brainerd and Cleveland, Tenn., and is planning a store on McCutcheon Road off of Shallowford Road near the Hamilton Place mall.

Publix and REI are slated to go in the Waterside mixed-use development off Shallowford Road near Interstate 75, said Jack Haylett, senior vice president of Branch Properties. Haylett said the new retailers are scheduled to open in that complex in the summer 2018.

In North Georgia, Publix also has stores in Rome and Cartersville as well as a large presence in the Atlanta area.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress. com or 423-757-6318.