10-05-2025
The Kroger Company clears first hurdle for possible Gateway Commons location
The Kroger Company came one step closer to building in Gateway Commons Thursday, when the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission (OMPC) approved a zoning change application submitted by Senior Green, LLC at the commission's monthly meeting.
According to application, Senior Green owns 23.468 acres at 2224 Pleasant Valley Road and 3433 Hayden Road. The firm sought to re-zone the property from an Urban Agriculture, Single-Family Residential, Multi-Family Residential and General Business zoned to B-4 General Business.
OMPC senior planning staff member Trey Pedley said that planning commission staff recommended approval of the zoning change because a traffic impact study on the property raised no concerns about overburdened roadways or area urban services. The zoning change would comply with the city's current strategic plan and that the expansion of business in the area is just 'logical business expansion,' Pedley said.
John Campbell, a project manager with Heritage Engineering, a consultant for The Kroger Company, attended the meeting to answer any questions from commission members or members of the community regarding the application filed by Senior Green.
'We have no concerns with the planning committee's staff recommendation,' said Campbell.
Campbell also expressed transparency, stating that his firm was hired as a consultant on the project by The Kroger Company because the retail chain grocery store is 'likely' to build in the Gateway Commons area.
'It's one of the most likely and possible locations for a new Kroger store,' Campbell said.
Daviess County resident Charles Evans spoke to the commission about reservations regarding the application, citing a lawsuit filed against Gulfstream Enterprises by former property owners claiming that they sold the land to Gulfstream for a sum 'well below its actual value', according to an article published by the Messenger-Inquirer in February 2024. The lawsuit alleges that Gulfstream then sold the property in question to Daviess County Public Schools for 'a substantially higher amount.'
'I'd like the commissioners to consider that this property could face a lawsuit as well,' Evans said.
Evans also brought up a situation of concern that occurred during the construction of the new Daviess County Middle School on Fairview Drive. Evans alleged that construction crews encountered a family cemetery during the building process and had to re-draft building plans, moving the football field to a new location.
'How do we know that builders aren't going to come across an old slave burial ground?' Evans asked. 'That property was in my family and I know that they owned slaves back in the day and there could be a slave graveyard somewhere.'
Campbell responded to the concerns from Evans, stating that he wasn't aware of any potential for lawsuits over the land, but he could check with the property owners for a response if necessary.
The concerns regarding the possible slave burial ground weren't specifically addressed, but planning commission executive director Brian Howard said that the possibility wouldn't dictate the commission's decision on Senior Green's zoning application.
Commissioner Bill Wiekel provided a motion to approve the application with a second provided by commissioner Manuel Ball. The application motion was then voted on by the full panel of commissioners where it was ultimately unanimously approved.
