Crews plan to break ground this week on a shopping center that will be anchored by a 78,000-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store.

Developer Dean Scarafoni, president of Live Oak Development Co., said The Crossroads at Independence (site plan shown below) and its massive Harris Teeter anchor are expected to be open by April 2022. Most Harris Teeter stores are 53,000 square feet, although their sizes can vary.

The center, which has been in the works for a few years, is coming to the corner of Carolina Beach Road and Independence Boulevard.

“It will be their largest store in the region,” Scarafoni said of the Harris Teeter, “and given how few stores are opening these days, it's a pretty good indication of how they feel about the location.” 

Danna Robinson, Harris Teeter communication manager, said in an email, "The new Harris Teeter is expected to include the following amenities: Starbucks, Floral Gallery, Hot Bars of American and Asian variety, salad bar, sandwich case, sushi, pizza/cheese island, bread bar, meat service case, seafood service case, wine bar, beer and wine department, craft beer, pet center, pharmacy, RX Drive Thru, express lane and café area."

The area surrounding the shopping center site, around the 3800 block of Carolina Beach Road, is one of the fastest-growing portions of the county, Scarafoni said.

“It's in between all the stuff going on in midtown and Riverlights and the redevelopment of Echo Farms, so you've got a lot of existing population and traffic,” he said.

The center also includes two outparcels, a Harris Teeter fuel center and two 8,000-square-foot multi-tenant buildings.

“We’ve gotten a handful of letters of intent but still have some space available” in the multi-tenant buildings, Scarafoni said.

Live Oak Development Co. is handling local leasing while The Providence Group of Charlotte is handling national and regional leasing, Scarafoni said.

The site work will be done by Honeycutt Construction Services.