Dillons has filed plans for what would become its sixth store in the Kansas City area, on undeveloped ground southeast of Northeast 104th Street and Northeast Cookingham Drive. The proposed store would occupy nearly 100,000 square feet, and the Kansas City Plan Commission is scheduled to take up the plan on Wednesday.
The Kansas City Business Journal reported the filing. Dillons, a grocery chain owned by Kroger, according to fox4kc.com, is also pursuing two other Northland proposals in Kansas City's approval process. Together, the plans show the scope of the chain's proposed expansion north of the river.
Two Other Northland Sites Already Moving Through City Hall
A separate Northland proposal is for a 100,000-square-foot store and gas station on about 12 acres at the northeast corner of North Oak Trafficway and Northeast Shoal Creek Parkway. Fox4kc.com reported that a site map was presented to the Plan Commission on March 4 and that the commission unanimously approved a rezoning request with conditions. A final Kansas City Council vote is still required, according to kansascity.com's reporting.
Another proposal would put a grocery and convenience store with fuel pumps just north of 152 Highway near the Central Bank Sporting Complex, according to kctv5.com's coverage. The Plan Commission approved the plan, which includes nearly 450 parking spaces, a dedicated grocery-pickup location and access from both Platte Purchase Drive and Tiffany Springs Road. The commission also approved similar plans for the North Oak Trafficway and Shoal Creek Parkway site in March.
The Central Bank Sporting Complex-area project sits within the Twin Creeks Master Planned Development at NW Tiffany Springs Road and N Platte Purchase Drive, and it would replace an earlier plan for nine smaller stores and restaurants on the same land, the station reported. Beyond the grocery store itself, the broader project area could eventually include apartments and hotels, according to a July report from bizjournals.com.
Olathe and Lee's Summit
The Northland proposals are part of a broader regional push. Dillons has announced plans for a store in Olathe and filed plans for one in Lee's Summit; kansascity.com's reporting says the company is eyeing at least 10 sites across the Kansas City metro. That coverage describes the Olathe and Missouri expansion as Dillons' return to the metro after nearly 20 years away.
Population and grocery access
On population change, the verified countywide figure available here is historical: MARC’s 2020 Census profile says Clay County added 31,396 people from 2010 to 2020. That figure does not describe all of Kansas City’s Northland or establish demand for this store.
The USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas assesses food access using factors such as store proximity, household resources and public transportation. That framework alone does not show whether the area around the proposed Cookingham Drive store meets federal low-income or low-access criteria.
For now, the Kansas City area's Dillons footprint remains modest: one store in Leavenworth and four in Lawrence, according to fox4kc.com. The Cookingham Drive proposal is scheduled for Wednesday's Plan Commission review.
