DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) — Kroger has cleared another hurdle in the grocery chain’s effort to build a new Delaware County store.

Delaware’s planning commission recommended approval on April 2 of Kroger’s development plan for a new marketplace and gas station to be built on 17 vacant acres near the southeast corner of Glenn and Sunbury roads. The property, which the proposal said was previously used for farmland, sits northwest of a Kroger distribution center and east of the Glenwood Commons shopping center.

The commission previously approved in February the chain’s request for a rezoning amendment, which changed the 17-acre property from a “Community Business District” to a “Commercial Planned Unit Development.”

Once completed, the marketplace will span more than 118,000 square feet and include a Starbucks location, 501 parking spaces and 10 bike parking spaces. The adjacent gas station will feature 10 fueling pumps.

During the April meeting, commission members debated whether the proposed parking lot would be too large. However, city staff noted that Delaware code typically requires more than 500 spaces for a building this expansive, but said Kroger is receiving an exception given the chain is an established Ohio operator.

Steve Fox, senior project manager for V3 Companies, the storefront’s lead developer, said the 501-space parking lot is on par with Kroger’s internal requirement of four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet.

Kroger’s construction will include the extension of Nutter Farms Lane to run along the property’s southern portion. Delaware staff said they are also examining the site’s traffic impact study, which will likely yield improvements to Glenn Road.

The storefront will mark Kroger’s third location in the city of Delaware. The chain operates the other two at 1840 Columbus Pike and 801 N. Houk Road. Plans for a Sunbury Road store follow a November announcement that Kroger will construct a 123,000-square-foot marketplace in Powell near the intersection of Home Road and Sawmill Parkway.

Kroger’s November announcement came as the chain opened the new Jerome Village marketplace at 12116 Sycamore Trace in Plain City. The storefront was boasted as the brand’s first new central Ohio store in 15 years, costing the company about $38 million.