BJ's Wholesale Club has filed preliminary plans for a 104,470-square-foot membership warehouse and an 18-pump gas station at 1209-1213 Stringtown Road in Grove City. If approved, it would become the company's third Central Ohio store, giving local shoppers another bulk-shopping option.
According to NBC4 WCMH-TV, BJ's has requested preliminary approval from Grove City's development department for the roughly 18-acre site, which sits between Buckeye Parkway and Jackson Pike, also known as State Route 104. The proposed layout includes 422 parking spaces, a members-only gas station with 18 fueling positions, a roughly 400-square-foot kiosk, and about 1.2 acres reserved near Stringtown Road for a possible retail or restaurant building that could include a drive-thru or pickup window. The project narrative filed with the city does not identify a tenant for that outparcel, and no construction schedule or anticipated opening date has been provided.
The site plan calls for as many as three access points: a full-service entrance and a right-in, right-out entrance along Stringtown Road, plus a right-in, right-out entrance along Jackson Pike. Per the same NBC4 report, the application also calls for pedestrian and bicycle connections along both roads, and a traffic study will examine the need for turn lanes and evaluate the development's effect on nearby intersections, including Stringtown Road at Jackson Pike and Jackson Pike at White Road.
Zoning Hurdle Still Ahead
The land BJ's wants to build on is currently split between industrial zoning in Grove City and suburban residential zoning in Jackson Township, so the company is seeking planned-unit commercial zoning to move forward. Grove City Council must approve both the requested zoning and the preliminary development plan before the project can proceed.
If it clears those hurdles, BJ's would add a large retail development along Stringtown Road. The road also connects directly to Interstate 71.
A New Central Ohio Option
A Grove City location would give area residents another option for bulk shopping.
A proposed Grove City location would add a membership warehouse to the city's retail mix.
A Broader Ohio Push
The Grove City proposal would be BJ's ninth Ohio location and its third in Central Ohio, following stores that opened in the New Albany area at Hamilton Quarter in 2022 and in Lewis Center in 2023 — part of the chain's return to Central Ohio after a two-decade absence. BJ's, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, sells groceries, household products, electronics, clothing and other merchandise, and currently operates 267 clubs across 22 states, per NBC4's report.
The company's national expansion has been rapid. BJ's reached 250 total warehouse locations nationwide in January 2025 and grew its membership base to roughly 7.5 million members, a 35% increase over five years, according to the Worcester Business Journal, following years in which the chain had paused new club openings to adjust its real estate strategy. One perk that sets BJ's apart from rivals: Experience Columbus notes it is the only major warehouse club chain that lets shoppers stack manufacturer coupons on top of its own store coupons in a single transaction.
Distribution Hub Backs the Expansion
Supporting that growth is a more than 500,000-square-foot distribution center BJ's is building in nearby Commercial Point, expected to open in early 2027 and set to replenish ambient-temperature groceries and general merchandise throughout the chain's network. JobsOhio says the project will create 250 new jobs in Pickaway County, which sits directly south of Grove City and Franklin County. The 125-acre site leaves room for future expansion, according to NBC4's reporting.
The distribution center will also lean on automation. As reported by Supply Chain Dive, the facility will incorporate warehouse automation software and robotics from Swisslog, including automated pallet storage and robotic case-handling to streamline replenishment across Midwest stores, with Swisslog Americas partnering on a project managed by developer VanTrust Real Estate. That Columbus-based development team has built more than 11.8 million square feet of industrial and commercial space in Ohio since 2014, including its management of the Commercial Point site.
For now, the Grove City store remains a preliminary filing, with the zoning request and development plan requiring city approval before BJ's can move forward.
