According to the Planning Board agenda item, the new tenant — rumored to be Tractor Supply Co., which would relocate from its present location about a mile north on Woodland Boulevard — will take over about 33,000 square feet on the western side of the 90,000 or so square feet of the former Sears/Kmart store.”
A retailer targeting “rural lifestyle” living is apparently poised to take over part of the former Sears Essentials/Kmart store in the Northgate Shopping Center on DeLand’s north side.
The city’s Planning Board recently recommended City Commission approval of a rezoning of the store and parking lots surrounding it to allow for the outdoor display and sales of vehicles such as trailers and all-terrain vehicles. The commission is expected to get its say in July.
According to an agenda document, the request is being made “to allow a proposed rural lifestyle store which sells home, outdoor, recreation and farm equipment and supplies” to set up “outdoor, overnight storage and to allow sales of vehicles,” activities that are not permitted under the current commercial zoning.
The rezoning does not include businesses on the center’s outparcels currently occupied by SunTrust Bank, Taco Bell and Pet Supermarket, or the parcel containing a Publix store and several smaller storefronts, according to the document.
According to the Planning Board agenda item, the new tenant — rumored to be Tractor Supply Co., which would relocate from its present location about a mile north on Woodland Boulevard — will take over about 33,000 square feet on the western side of the 90,000 or so square feet of the former Sears/Kmart store. Neither the proposed tenant nor the property owner would confirm who the company is, although the agenda item’s description strongly suggests Tractor Supply.
“As of this time, I do not have confirmation that a lease has been signed for a new store, but as soon as I receive confirmation/any updates, I will be sure to let you know,” Grace Stewart, who works with Tractor Supply’s public-relations team, said in an email.
“We have been actively working to add new best-in-class retailers that meet the needs of the DeLand community,” Kristen Moore, a spokeswoman for Brixmor Property Group in New York City, which owns the plaza, said in a separate email. “We look forward to announcing these new tenants as leases are completed. Zoning requests are often a step towards finalizing a lease.”
But a city planner said it is Tractor Supply Co. that should be moving in.
“Tractor Supply has already made inquiries about how much signage they can get,” said Anna Cava Grosso. “They’re being held to the standard land-development regulations [of] 100 square feet.”
The Planning Board’s June 20 recommendation for approval does have some conditions, Cava Grosso said. The board wants minor changes in the side setback distances, better pedestrian access to certain areas, ligustrum shrubbery rather than something more generic, and ensuring a wider sidewalk doesn’t narrow driving lanes too much.
Cava Grosso said plans also have been submitted — but not yet approved by the Planning Board or City Commission — to partially demolish a smaller building on the west side of the building and enclose it as part of an outdoor merchandise area.
There has been no timetable submitted for when that build-out or other work will be done, she added.
— Joe Crews, joe@beacononlinenews.com