Plano redevelopment would reuse former Kroger as fitness center, add retail

A former Kroger that has sat empty at one of north Plano’s busiest corners could soon be reused as a fitness center, with two new retail buildings added to the 9.7-acre site at Coit Road and State Highway 121.

Plano’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on April 20 to recommend approval of the preliminary site plan for Signature Plaza, Block A, Lots 1R, 7R and 8, city records show. The project, listed as PSP2025-031, covers 9700 Coit Road on the east side of the street, about 625 feet north of Ridgeview Drive, and is zoned Regional Commercial within the State Highway 121 and Expressway Corridor Overlay Districts.

The plan calls for retail, restaurant and health and fitness uses on three lots. Most immediately, it would give the long-vacant former Kroger a new purpose instead of leaving a prominent grocery box idle at a major intersection that thousands of drivers pass every day.

The site’s redesign also reflects how the roadway has changed since the property was first developed. City planner Ana Sutter said the original 2004 layout included a 30-foot landscape edge, but no right-turn lanes were required then. Kroger Texas LP is now seeking a reduction in required landscape space because the redevelopment would add two right-turn lanes on Coit Road, a detail that puts traffic flow and site design at the center of the project’s review.

That matters for nearby shoppers and residents because the corner has already gone through a major shift. Kroger’s newer Marketplace store opened across the street at 9617 Coit Road on Jan. 24, 2025, and replaced the old store at 9700 Coit Road effective immediately. The new store was described as roughly 124,000 to 125,000 square feet, about 55,000 square feet larger than the older location, and Kroger said the project would create about 100 to 150 jobs in the Plano community.

The redevelopment now under review would keep the former store from becoming a lingering vacancy while adding more retail choice to a corridor that is already changing fast. The nearby Coit Marketplace project on the southwest corner of SH 121 and Coit Road is separate, but together the projects show how much this intersection has become a redevelopment node for Plano, with grocery, retail and fitness uses all competing for the same traffic and consumer attention.

The Planning and Zoning Commission only makes recommendations; the final decision now moves to Plano City Council.