A revised site plan for what is expected to be one of the first U.S. stores of German grocer Lidl was approved by the Aberdeen City Council.
The new Lidl plan, which the council approved Monday night, is significantly different from one approved about a year ago. In the new plan, the planned 36,000-square-foot store is reoriented to be perpendicular to South Philadelphia Boulevard on the six-acre property, at 621 S. Philadelphia Blvd., home to the Short Stop beverage store.
The change, which was driven by stormwater management accommodations and results of a traffic study, will result in a slightly smaller store, but will also provide more parking and better ingress and egress, Joseph Ucciferro, an associate with Bohler Engineering, told the council and Mayor Patrick McGrady.
Brent Wensel, a Lidl representative, said the store is expected to open "no later than 2018" and will be "one of the first" in the United States. He said Lidl plans to open several stores along the East Coast, as well as a distribution center in Cecil County.
McGrady said he is disappointed the distribution center isn't also coming to Aberdeen, but is "excited" to have the new store. He praised the site layout, saying, "It should be a nice view as you drive by."
Wensel said the store will have 30 to 40 employees and will be open regular supermarket hours from 7 or 8 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. He said Lidl stores typically carry 80 percent store branded merchandise and the remainder national brands, with everything restocked through a single truck delivery daily.
Lidl will feature "a lot of nice imports" and a fully stocked store, Wensel said, "unlike other competitors with just a limited supply." McGrady, in turn, had no problem naming Aldi, whose Aberdeen store is less than a quarter of a mile away from the planned Lidl location. The two companies are major competitors in Europe.
Councilwoman Sandy Landbeck said the Lidl name and logo "have a lot of cachet" in Europe and the United Kingdom.
"We have a lot of people in Aberdeen who have lived in Germany and have a lot of great things to say [about Lidl]," she said.
East side annexation
The council also reviewed the proposed annexation of about an acre in east Aberdeen, which is home to Hardy Self-Storage.
John Gessner, a lawyer for the owner, Hardy Family Series LLC, said the triangular shaped property at the junction of Route 22 and East Bel Air Avenue is zoned M1, light industrial.
Gessner, who was the only person to speak during Monday's council hearing on the annexation request, said the site does not have access to public water and sewer service, "which is the primary but not sole reason to request annexation." In addition to paying water and sewer connection fees, the property will generate property tax revenue once it's annexed, he added.
The annexation was previously approved by the Aberdeen Planning Commission.
While no objections were expressed during the hearing, McGrady asked that no vote be taken until the next council meeting on June 20, to give residents additional time to voice any opinions or concerns they might have.