Aldi supermarket wins zoning approval for Monroe location

MONROE, CT — Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved a new Aldi location at Town Line Plaza, 205 Monroe Turnpike, Thursday.

The grocery store will be built behind the Panera Bread Café on a site that also includes a Noble gas station with conceptual approval of a 10,000-square-foot medical office building.

Prior to voting on the resolution of approval Thursday evening, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Schultz noted that the developer agreed to have a pedestrian walkway from the medical office to the grocery store, electric vehicle charging stations distributed equally between the parking lots, and to include screening and an enclosure for the dumpster.

“Architectural-wise, the commission was pleased with it,” he said of the plan.

Among the conditions of approval is that the outdoor lighting be Dark Sky complaint to reduce glare onto neighboring properties. Schultz noted how there are homes behind the property.

He said the lights will be on timers, though motion detectors are necessary.

The 19,677-square-foot grocery store will have 169 parking spaces, along with landscaping to enhance the property.

Rave reviews for Aldi

The Albrecht Family founded the world’s first discount grocery store in Germany in 1961, and opened its first Aldi store in Iowa 16 years later, according to its website. Today, Aldi’s headquarters is in Batavia, Ill., and the chain has grown to more than 2,000 stores across 36 states with over 25,000 employees.

Bruno Lourenco, director of real estate for Aldi, said the chain has 31 stores in Connecticut with three more planned.

During a hearing on the application, commissioners and residents alike raved about the supermarket, from the quality of its products, cleanliness and layout of its stores, to the lower prices compared to other grocery stores.

Lourenco said Aldi considers itself to be a grocery store catering to the needs of working families with children.