Speedway plans to demolish its current location at 1147 N. Limestone St. to build a 3,900-square-foot convenience store in a much larger area, according to public documents.
The company is under contract to purchase buildings at 135 E. McCreight Ave. and the former Hair Design Plus, 1131 N. Limestone St., which would both be razed to accommodate Speedway’s expansion.
Neighbors have expressed their concerns about losing the alley due to parking issues in the winter, as well as the possibility of more noise, traffic and vagrants.
After commissioners Kevin O’Neill and Karen Duncan said they had planned to vote no on the alley vacation because they’re public right of way, Speedway representatives told the commission they could work with the neighbors for a better solution to the expansion, including the possibility of a private alley.
“I’m not opposed to Speedway expanding their operation,” O’Neill said, “but there’s opposition to this public right of way. It’s my opinion the neighborhood has said enough is enough.”
After a nearly 20-minute discussion earlier this week, the issue was tabled until Aug. 20 to allow Speedway to work on a different plan.
Village Greene
The commission will vote at its Aug. 6 meeting on the rezoning of the 12.6-acre Village Greene, 1221 E. Home Road, planned development at the former Simon Kenton school site.
Jim Peifer, the attorney for developer Mike Hufford of Keith Lynn Associates, asked the commissioners to vote on the rezoning as an emergency ordinance. However, after a 30-minute public hearing in which several neighbors voiced their complaints about the development, commissioners heard the ordinance as a first reading.
“It will change the look and feel of the neighborhood,” said Bill Brown, a nearby resident. “I just think its a bad, bad idea.”
The planned development will include retail stores, office buildings and a residential area. One prospective tenant, Dollar General, is hoping to begin construction later this year and open before the Christmas holiday.
In June, the city planning board recommended approval of the rezoning of the development. It had been previously rezoned in 2008, but stalled due to the economic recession.
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