North Raleigh neighbors continue opposition to Publix store rezoning

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John West

Publix Super Markets opened its first store for the Triangle region on Oct. 29 at the new Bradford shopping center in Cary. The company, however, has not identified any other locations in the Triangle for future Publix stores.

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Amanda Jones Hoyle

Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal

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With the much anticipated opening of the Triangle's first Publix grocery store in Cary on Oct. 29, the next question is where will there be a second Publix location?

For the record, both Chuck Roskovich, who is Publix's vice president of its North Carolina division, and official spokeswoman Kim Reynolds say there is no potential second location yet for Publix in the Triangle because no other building leases have been finalized beyond the new Cary location.

When questioned about a highly-publicized north Raleigh rezoning case that involves plans for a new retail center anchored by Publix, Roskovich denies that any deal has been signed. "Until we have a lease signed, it's not our store," he says. "That's a non-story for us."

Reynolds reiterated that Publix is "looking to grow" throughout the Triangle region, but she could give no timeline when a second store location could be confirmed or announced.

In north Raleigh, though, many neighbors in a cluster of communities around Bedford and Falls River are divided over their support for the new grocery store planned at the corner of Falls of Neuse and Dunn Road.

Morgan Property Group, a Charlotte developer with close ties to Publix, filed plans nearly a year ago seeking to rezone 13 acres at the heavily trafficked entrance into the Bedford at Falls River community for a new shopping center, and it's been widely acknowledged that Morgan Property Group is seeking to lease its anchor space to Publix.

The site is currently zoned for construction of an office building.

Since the rezoning application was filed, however, neighbors have filed three valid protest petitions with more than 2,000 signatures opposing the rezoning request, which means that the project will require a three-fourths majority vote by the Raleigh City Council for approval.

Amanda Jones Hoyle covers commercial and residential real estate. Follow her on Twitter @TBJrealestate