Oxford Commons grocery store plan delayed over lot merger request

Oxford Commons shoppers may have to wait longer for another grocery option after the Oxford Planning Commission tabled a request that would let Sullivan’s Marketplace be built as one project. Oxford Commons Lots, LLC, represented by David Blackburn, asked to combine four existing lots in The Summit, Phase 2 into a single parcel a little more than five acres in size.

The change sounds technical, but it is the step that would make the grocery store possible. The lots could be bought separately, but they could not be developed together as one grocery-store project unless they were legally merged first. Blackburn’s engineer, Paul Koshenina of Precision Engineering, told commissioners that plat amendments are common in planned developments and argued that the store would help Oxford Commons residents by cutting down trips to other parts of Oxford for groceries. He also noted that the property is already zoned commercial, so more commercial use would likely come there even without the amendment.

The objection came from Anita Chan, a neighboring property owner who called into the meeting. Chan said she bought her property based on the approved plat already on the books and believed the change would alter the investment expectations she relied on. She also warned that combining the lots could open the door to more retail space than just the grocery store, creating direct competition with her own nearby development on Ed Perry Boulevard.

The discussion turned tense when Blackburn said Chan had offered to drop her dispute if he sold her two extra lots. Blackburn described that as blackmail, while Chan denied it and said Blackburn had threatened to move her tenants. Because commissioners could not clearly hear all of Chan’s comments over the phone, they tabled the case until the May meeting. At that meeting, they will decide whether Chan is directly interested or adversely affected by the change, a ruling that could determine whether the grocery-store project moves ahead.

The delay lands in the middle of a larger Oxford Commons buildout. Oxford Commons has been described as a roughly 560-acre master-planned community with about 1,100 residential units and about one million square feet of commercial space. Blackburn was also advancing The Summit, Phase 3, a roughly 20-acre section south of Phase 2 that would connect Lakewood Hill Drive to Summit Drive and provide access to Ed Perry Boulevard, underscoring how road access, traffic flow and retail placement continue to shape the development.

Sullivan’s Marketplace was previously approved by the Planning Commission on Sept. 9, 2024 as a 35,000-square-foot grocery store in Colonnade Crossing off Highway 30. That approval included a special exception and two variances, plus a 3,000-square-foot wine and spirits store, a drive-thru iTM and 137 parking spaces, 19 more than required. City planning staff said at the time the store would fill a gap in northern Oxford.