The German discount grocer Lidl has revived its plan to open a store in Sandy Springs. The store is planned for the City Center Crossing shopping center at 6337 Roswell Road.
Lidl pulled out of two Sandy Springs locations in 2017, including one in City Center Crossing, but now it is planning on expanding into other metro Atlanta cities, including Brookhaven.
Lidl spokesperson Chandler Ebeier said it is too early to offer specifics on the Sandy Spring store.
“I can tell you we look forward to opening a store in Sandy Springs in the future,” Ebeier said.
A land disturbance permit is listed for the address on the city’s permitting site and lists the project name as “Lidl Grocery Store at City Center Crossing.”
The application date for the permit was Sept. 5 and it is still under review, according to the document. The project is described as “A proposed Lidl grocery store to utilize the existing building, parking area and utilities within the City Center Crossing shopping center.”
The store plans to open in a former Marshalls department store building. The space is 39,254 square feet, according to a site plan on the website of the property owner, Stream Realty Partners.
City spokesperson Dan Coffer confirmed that Lidl applied for a land disturbance permit but did not know a timeline on the opening.
Stream did not respond to comment requests.
This is not the first time the grocer has tried to expand its chain into Sandy Springs, or even to City Center Crossing.
Stream proposed a location in 2016 at the North River Shopping Center at 8877 Roswell Road and was eyeing City Center Crossing, formerly known as Marshalls Plaza.
In 2017, the proposal was killed amid community concern about traffic and desires for higher-end retail in the North End.
Lidl also withdrew from a contract to purchase the location at City Center Crossing, which was not as far along in the planning process.
“Officials from the city of Sandy Springs made it clear they were trying to prevent Lidl from opening in the city,” Simon Arpiarian, Stream’s co-managing partner said in 2017.
Across the street from the City Center Crossing site is an Aldi, Lidl’s discount grocery competitor, also based in Germany.
Lidl is also planning to open a store in the Brighten Park Shopping Center in Brookhaven at 2480 Briarcliff Road, according to DeKalb County building permits. The building once held The Fresh Market, which closed in July 2018. According to a site plan on the website of Regency Centers, the property’s owner, the space is 24,625 square feet.
Leslie Mintz, the senior leasing agent of Regency Centers, declined to comment.
“We are looking into a number of sites in the area, and it is too early to offer specifics as we are going through the application and approval processes,” Ebeier said.