Panel OKs scaled-down north Raleigh grocery

Charlotte-based Morgan Property Group originally proposed a 49,000-square-foot supermarket at the intersection, but pressure from north Raleigh neighbors resulted in a 29,000-square-foot plan being submitted to the City Council in late January.

Florida-based Publix, which was widely rumored to be the anchor for the project, won't be part of the revised plan, according to an attorney for Morgan Property. Instead, a "specialty" grocer will fill that space.

Publix opened its first Triangle-area store in Cary in October.

Morgan asked the city in 2013 to rezone the 12-acre site, north of Interstate 540, to allow construction of a supermarket, several smaller stores and a bank.

Since that time, residents have pushed back, with community meetings and more than 3,300 signing petitions, arguing against the crowding, traffic and environmental impact a strip mall would have in their residential area.

Planning committee members said the community outcry played a major role in the decision to scale back the plan, which still must be approved by the Raleigh City Council.