Change in store: Plans advance for Columbia County's first Lidl supermarket

Developers of a proposed Lidl supermarket in Columbia County are asking for more windows and a more convenient loading dock. 

The site at 4285 Washington Road would place the discount grocer across the street from an upscale Publix supermarket, one of three in Columbia County. The site is comprised of four land parcels co-owned by Columbia County District 3 Commissioner Gary Richardson.  

First announced:Lidl to build first Columbia County supermarket

Other locations:Lidl ahead of schedule on Augusta, North Augusta stores

Now Opening:Discount appliances, green cleaners, new McAlister's

Plans to build the 31,000-square-foot Lidl have been progressing for at least a year. Columbia County commissioners approved a pair of zoning variations for the project in June 2021, for a retaining wall to buffer adjacent homes and for changing the building’s maximum required setback from Washington Road. 

Richardson abstained from that vote because of his connection to the project. The property’s other co-owners are Billy Jackson, who operates a regional chain of Tile Center interior design stores, and Joel LaMothe Jr., whose Augusta-based company owns several Jiffy Lube franchises. 

The project’s architects also are asking the county to allow a larger window area and overhead doors on the side of the building, according to variance requests filed with the county in April. 

County code allows up to 25% of a building’s wall area in the Evans Town Center overlay district to be windows or other types of architectural glass. The county created a zoning overlay district more than 20 years ago to maintain building aesthetics across development projects to share similar building aesthetics. 

The developers are asking for up to 45% of window area on the side of the building that would face Washington Road. Larger glass panels are a signature feature of many Lidl supermarkets. 

Calling the feature “a Lidl Grocery prototype,” the clear glass “allows customers to see into the store from the parking area,” said Monica Armstrong, senior project manager for Atlanta-based YSM Design, in an April 22 letter to county planning staff. 

County code also allows overhead doors – the metal roll-up doors often seen in loading areas – to be placed in the backs of buildings. The topographic constraints of the site would allow such a door to be placed only on the side of the building, Armstrong said. 

The Columbia County store would be the 20th Lidl in Georgia and just the second in the state outside metro Atlanta. The first opened in 2017 on Alexander Drive in Augusta. 

Lidl is a Germany-headquartered supermarket chain that lists more than 11,000 locations worldwide. The store’s austere approach to décor and product display is intended to provide lower prices. 

The Columbia County Planning Commission is expected to consider Lidl’s variance request at its May 19 meeting.