MORGANTOWN – Requests pertaining to the Elmer Prince Drive United Bank and the Sabraton Kroger location were recently before the Morgantown Planning Commission.
An application from Eli Henthorn, of CEC, on behalf of Kroger Real Estate Manager Maxwell Harmon, to consolidate the parcels upon which the Earl Core Road Kroger store is located was approved by the commission.
“As it sits, the current Kroger building sits on four different parcels. They want to merge those all into one. Kroger is intending to purchase that from their current landlord, R&L Associates, and kind of clean that up as part of the transaction,” Henthorn said.
Henthorn went on to say Kroger is also purchasing the two adjoining parcels that make up Jones Plaza. Those properties include the buildings that house the TLC Dental and Smile Defenders dental offices as well as the former Dollar General and Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations. R&L Associates also owns those properties.
City Planner Seth Cardwell said the Jones Plaza parcels were initially included in the consolidation request, but were ultimately removed to expedite the process.
“I’m just bringing that up because those may come up in the future,” Cardwell said.
As part of the same meeting, the commission voted to forward a zoning map amendment on to Morgantown City Council with a recommendation for approval.
The amendment would change the zoning of the approximately 51,222 square-foot United Bank property at 990 Elmer Prince Drive from O-I (office and industrial) to B-2 (service business).
According to information included in the commission’s agenda packet, no change of use is anticipated at the property.
United Bank Property Manager Frank Salucci said that with the construction of the new WVU Eye Institute and the recent sale of the neighboring Monongalia County Health Department property to WVU Hospitals, the bank has concerns about visibility.
Cardwell noted the zoning change aligns the parcel’s zoning with that of the surrounding district and heads off any future compliance issues with signage standards in O-I districts should the bank opt for more substantial signage.
“The main reason is we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s all WVU. We’re getting kind of hidden into that with the new eye center. Our main sign on one side of the building is no longer visible. We just want to make sure we have good visibility down the road depending on what happens with the properties on the other side of us that WVU just recently bought,” Salucci said. “We thought B-2 would be the best way to go to keep everything consistent with what’s in the area.”
