By John Kiesewetter
Enquirer staff writer

MONROE - A Kroger superstore planned along Ohio 63 could prompt a commercial and office boom near the new Monroe schools complex.

"This is going to be a huge catalyst for the area," said Jay Stewart, development director for this growing Butler County city.

This property South of Ohio 63, between Yankee Road and MacReady Avenue in Monroe, is to be the site for a new Kroger Store. (Enquirer photo/GLENN HARTONG)

Midland Atlantic Properties wants to develop 48 acres of farmland at Ohio 63 and Macready Avenue for a 90,000-square-foot shopping center. It would be anchored by a 69,000-square-foot Kroger store, Stewart said.

The developer's request for a zoning change from residential to commercial planned-unit development will be considered by the city planning commission at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The city also will be asked to annex 33 acres from Lemon Township for the shopping center and two commercial/office buildings on the south side of Ohio 63, said John Silverman of Midland Atlantic Properties.

City Council also plans to annex 10 acres of Ohio 63 - to Yankee Road - from the township, Stewart said. The new Monroe kindergarten-through-high school complex opens in September on Yankee Road, just north of Ohio 63.

The landowners include Robert Majors, a longtime Monroe farmer. His family also operates Majors Supply near Yankee Road and Ohio 63.

The store and farmhouse not be part of the annexation or development, Stewart said.

The shopping center will be the first major retail growth on the western edge of the original Monroe community, which became a city in 1995 by annexing west to LeSourdsville Lake. The city now stretches three miles west on Ohio 63 to Ohio 4.

Most of the city's commercial development has sprouted close to Interstate 75, on the east side of town. Industrial development has occurred along Ohio 63 near Ohio 4, separated from the original Monroe by Lemon Township farms.

Geographically, the new Kroger "will be right in the middle of town," Stewart said. "This is great for the city. Kroger has such a powerful track record as a proven anchor that it will spur development in the area."

Behind the proposed shopping center are 130 acres that could be developed for office and industrial use, Stewart said.

Midland Atlantic also will realign Macready Avenue at Ohio 63 and install a stoplight at the intersection, Stewart said.

If the zone change and the annexation are approved, construction would begin in March, Silverman said. The shopping center would open in fall 2005.

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E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com