No New “Big Box” Store For Fairhope

By Steve Alexander Reporter

Zoning change request that would have allowed a store at Section Street and Highway 98 is withdrawn No New “Big Box” Store For Fairhope

Published: Mon, April 07, 2008 - 8:58 pm Last Updated: Mon, July 28, 2008 - 10:30 pm

Steve Alexander

Plans to build a grocery or retail store on 54,000 square feet of land in Fairhope are off the table.
An Atlanta developer had hoped to secure a zoning change that would have allowed him to build the store near Section Street and Highway 98.
The request was to go before the Fairhope Planning and Zoning Commission Monday afternoon.
However, before the meeting started, a planning engineer representing the developer asked that the request be withdrawn.
As to why the developer wanted the request withdrawn, Christopher Baker of Hutchinson, Moore and Rauch engineers said, "I wasn't privy to those conversations. I just had a phone call from our client about lunchtime that indicated (he wanted) to withdraw the application."
People like Dot Maddox of Fairhope, who attended the zoning commission meeting, were glad to hear about the withdrawal.
Maddox said, "It should be residential and built in such a way that is attractive to people approaching Fairhope and not an area that has a big old, humongous grocery store in it. Its not pretty."
In December, Fairhope planning officials denied the developer's initial request to allow a store on 46,000 square feet of land at the same intersection.