Portsmouth council defers rezoning vote that would turn former Kroger into apartments

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth City Council decided to defer a rezoning decision that would allow construction of multi-family apartments at the former Kroger on High Street.

The vote will now happen on October 13. Council member Shannon Glover said Tuesday that some community members were confused about the apartments, and the decision allows citizens more time to ask developers questions.

The ordinance would grant Daniel Heatwole, of Ripley Heatwole Company, the ability to rezone approximately 10.34 acres at the 5601 High Street site from general mixed-use (GMU-K) to High Intensity Mixed-Use (MU-H). The apartments would feature 192 units.

Heatwole has also requested to rezone approximately 2.16 acres at 3109 Tyre Neck Road from General Mixed-Use (GMU) to Urban Residential – High (UR-H) to construct a 40-unit multi-family apartment complex there.