Plans for the construction of a new Aldi grocery store have been submitted to the Rome-Floyd County Board of Adjustments for a setback variance at the proposed site, 820 Turner McCall Blvd.
The application seeks a reduction in the setback distance required at the southeast corner of the property line, from 30 feet to 10 feet or less.
Aldi officials still have not formally commented on plans for the new store. Nor have officials at Echota Realty in Rome, owners of the property in the Village shopping center  — although they did say in August that plans to redevelop the property were underway, and they were courting a national grocery chain.
The request for variance indicates the project would involve new construction covering some 17,036 square feet of space on the footprint of the Village Theatres property and offices for Rome Cinemas. The existing footprint encompasses 20,920 square feet.
The building, which would be torn down, was originally constructed as an A&P grocery store.
The project would not affect the existing nail salon, Ward’s Pharmacy or Subway at the western end of the retail center.
The plans also show landscaped islands at five locations in the parking lot that do not currently exist. Parking should not be an issue even with the addition of the landscaped islands.
Plans for the project indicate that the shopping center, which includes a Steak ’n Shake on one side and Applebee’s on the other, requires a minimum of 244 spaces. After the new store is built and the islands added, the lot would have 337 spaces.
The Board of Adjustments will hear the variance request July 16.