New retail strip to replace Altum’s Garden Center

Kroger has signed on to anchor a new shopping center along Michigan Road near 106th Street on the site of Altum’s Garden Center. The plans call for a full-size Kroger store, Kroger-branded gas station, small shops and a couple of outlots, possibly for restaurants, north of an existing Marsh store between 106th and 116th streets, said Angie Conn, Carmel’s planning administrator. The planning department expects a developer will file formal plans by Oct. 16, in time for a Dec. 15 public hearing. Kroger does not yet have a store in the Zionsville/West Carmel area. Its closest locations are along West 86th Street just west of Township Line Road and at 71st Street and Georgetown Road. The owners of Altum’s plan to remain open until the deal closes and then hope to build a new nursery within a mile of the current location.