Wegmans Eyes Cornelius Site for Possible Grocery Store

Wegmans Food Markets has executed a purchase agreement with Atrium Health for a site at the southwest corner of Westmoreland and Statesville roads in Cornelius, announced Sept. 21. The company is evaluating the site for a future grocery store and other uses; no final decisions have been made.

The site sits next to Atrium Health Lake Norman hospital near Interstate 77. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority owns 90 acres at the corner in two lots: the hospital occupies 30 acres, with the remaining 60 planned for further development. Wegmans typically targets 10 to 14 acres for a supermarket.

A grocery store would require rezoning, with applications before the town planning board and Board of Commissioners. No active rezoning applications appear on the Town of Cornelius website, and town officials have previously pushed for corporate uses over retail grocery at the site.

Wegmans opened its first Charlotte-area store in Ballantyne in mid-October, at about 110,000 square feet.