What’s next for Springfield after Kroger bails on plans for Marketplace in Clark County

A proposed $20 million Kroger Marketplace store on the south side of Springfield was expected to provide better shopping options for residents and provide a spark that could draw new retail and investment to the area.

The project got far enough that Kroger officials said last year the company was moving forward with construction this year. But the project was on hold by January. And last month, Kroger told local officials the company was scrapping the project and instead focusing on investing in more technology in its existing stores.

READ MORE: Springfield Kroger Marketplace to begin construction in 2018

That decision shut down a project that was years in the making, but local economic development officials said while it was disappointing, they still see the area as a viable option for other investments.

The company’s decision to invest in Springfield’s south side would have meant jobs and the potential for new investment, said Dale Henry, a Springfield resident who helped push for the project. While he’s still optimistic the site is primed for development, it was difficult to watch the project slip away.

“When (Kroger) came back in March of 2016 we were really happy about the fact they were serious about looking at a new store there on Ohio 72,” Henry said. “When they took this off the table a few weeks ago it was like another slap in the face for Springfield’s South side.”

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Not all area residents were in favor of the proposed project.

The project was expected to bring as many as 350 new jobs to the area but also divided residents. Some living in the area have raised concerns about traffic and the potential that it might have been difficult for residents on the city’s south side to find adequate transportation to the new store.

Erin Rolfes, a spokeswoman for Kroger, declined to discuss the company’s decision-making process but said the chain opted to devote its available resources to boosting technology and improving existing stores.

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The chain announced a Restock Kroger initiative last fall, which includes plans to roll out more programs like ClickList and its Scan, Bag, Go program to more stores. ClickList allows customers to order groceries online and pick the delivery up at a local store while Scan, Bag, Go allows customers to scan items as they shop through the store.

“We’re basically sinking more of our money into the technology side of the business,” she told the paper earlier this month.

Rolfes declined to provide additional comment for this report.

A competitive industry

Grocery chains are facing difficult decisions on how best to use resources as the industry has become increasingly competitive, especially in the past few years, said Kristin Mullins, president and CEO of the Ohio Grocers Association.

Grocery stores that competed against rival chains for years are now seeing competition from tech companies like Amazon, which purchased Whole Foods. They’re also seeing more competition from convenience stores and businesses like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron that deliver prepared meal kits directly to customers.

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“All of these things are putting a demand on today’s grocery to become more technologically savvy to be able to provide a convenient shopping experience to the public,” Mullins said. “I do think members are deciding a little differently than years past on where to put their resources and how exactly they’re reinvesting in their businesses.”

Despite the company’s decision to cancel the Springfield project, the chain has made recent investments in other nearby communities.

Just last year, Kroger unveiled new marketplace stores in Fairborn and Centerville, and the company has pledged to renovate a store in Huber Heights.

Kroger Marketplaces are larger than the chain’s traditional stores. They usually offer products like clothing and home goods along with groceries. Kroger is a significant employer in Clark County, with close to 600 employees at its locations in the county.

Mullins said it’s critical that chains like Kroger invest in new technologies to cut wait times for customers and make shopping as convenient as possible.

“I’ve heard from Kroger specifically in the past that that’s what they’re doing, is taking some funds and reinvesting it into their technological resources so they can meet the changing demand of the consumer,” Mullins said.

Needed investment

Henry, who served as chairman of the Southern Gateway Association, said local officials approached Kroger as early as 2014 to gauge its interest in the project and discuss potential properties that might fit the company’s needs. The company began taking a more serious look at the project around 2016.

At that time, Kroger was willing to invest in the southern part of the city, said Michael McDorman, president and CEO of the Chamber of Greater Springfield. He said that area has struggled to attract investment and the Kroger project was seen as a possible key to bringing new opportunities to the area.

“We know that area of our community has struggled for decades, and we know there’s a lot of work that needs to go into that area to make it attractive to these kinds of market-based decisions.”

While he said he was disappointed in the chain’s decision, he said Kroger faced a more difficult decision this year than may have been the case when the project started to move forward.

“ Time kills all deals, and the timing was such in this case that Kroger’s financial numbers have been declining as competition becomes more fierce in their marketplace,” McDorman said. “They have chosen at this point over the next three years to invest in technology in their existing stores and not make capital investments in suspect markets. We know today this is a suspect market for that type of decision they were making.”

In the meantime, Henry said there also don’t appear to be any plans from the company to invest or improve an existing store at 1822 S. Limestone St. When the project was being proposed, some residents had also raised concerns that the existing Kroger might close altogether or that some shoppers may not have adequate transportation to travel to the proposed location south of Interstate 70.

Future plans

The corridor’s access to the highway should make it a prime spot for development, Henry said, but for various reasons investment has lagged.

“Most of these communities all the way down Interstate 70, it’s developed, but not Springfield,” Henry said.

At the same time, he said the city annexed the site and extended water and sewer, laying the groundwork for future development.

“The biggest thing is now that that property is not going to be used for a Marketplace, the ground is prepared in terms of the water and sewer so that another developer won’t have to go through that process.”

The challenge moving forward is to continue making progress along the southern corridor to make the area more attractive to potential investment, McDorman said.

Since the company’s decision, Bryan Heck, deputy city manager, arranged a meeting with the existing property owners where the Marketplace store was to be built.

Tom Franzen, assistant city manager and director of economic development for Springfield, said city officials were told the owners want to continue to actively market the site for potential sale. The property is already zoned for retail development. Utilities are also in place, and there have been engineering studies and traffic studies that have been completed.

“We still think that’s a good fit for that area and the city, the chamber and the county were all in that meeting with the owners,” Franzen said. “We’ve all said we’ll do what we can to market and promote it for that type of use.”


The Springfield News-Sun has provided extensive coverage of a proposed new Kroger Marketplace location in Springfield. For this story, the paper spoke to local economic development officials, residents and grocery industry experts to cover Kroger’s decision and its impact moving forward.

By the numbers:

$20M — Kroger’s estimated investment

350 — Estimated jobs associated with the project

100,000 to 145,000 square feet — Typical size of a Kroger marketplace store

35 — States Kroger operates in

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