The College Park City Council voted Tuesday night to approve a detailed site plan for German grocery store chain Lidl.
If the city’s planning board approves the proposal at an Oct. 20 hearing, the Clarion Inn on Route 1 will be torn down and Lidl will be constructed in its place.
Lidl could change College Park’s U.S. Department of Agriculture designation as a “food desert,” or a region that lacks access to fresh food, largely due to a shortage of grocery stores.
“We are extremely pleased and happy to have an application pending within College Park,” said Matt Tedesco, the land use and zoning attorney for Lidl. “We are excited about it.”
District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan said he was pleased with the cooperation between the council and Lidl officials on the project. Lidl representatives agreed to the city’s recommendations after an initial discussion at the council’s Sept. 20 work session.
“I believe the store is a grocery store that the community wants to have great pride in,” Brennan said.
