NEWS

Tractor Supply Co. could open Marysville location

Nicole Hayden Times Herald

Ready your horses and prime the farm — Tractor Supply Co. may be opening in Marysville.

Plans for the store are in the Marysville Plaza, 3200 Gratiot Ave., making it a neighbor and tenant to Wally's Supermarket.

Plans are in the works to open a Tractor Supply Co. in part of the building that houses Wally's Supermarket, 3200 Gratiot Ave. in Marysville.

A variance required by the company — to store and display products outside — is on the Marysville Zoning Board's Tuesday meeting agenda.

Calls to Tractor Supply Co. were not immediately returned.

The company currently has a location at 1400 32nd St., Port Huron Township.

Wally Bakko, Wally's Supermarket and plaza owner, said his store will not be closing nor will he be reducing his offerings.

Bakko will be renting 36,000-square-feet of the supermarket to Tractor Supply, and will be condensing his grocery store down to 16,000-square-feet.

Grocery items and shelving units are in the process of being moved Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Wally's Supermarket in Marysville. Plans are in the works to open a Tractor Supply Co. in part of the building at 3200 Gratiot Ave.

"We are still in the negotiation process," Bakko said. "The real estate agent approached us about two months ago. But (Wally's Supermarket) will still carry everything, we are not losing any variety, the store was too big for us before."

Randy Fernandez, Marysville city manager, said he believes the company started looking for a building a year ago.

Bakko said construction work has not started yet to prepare the building for Tractor Supply, but he has started to rearrange his store to accommodate it.

Bakko will be bringing the request for outdoor displays to the city's zoning board.

"If you have ever been to a Tractor Supply you will see that they store things like lawnmowers and feed out front of their building," Fernandez said. "Our ordinance does not allow that so they are asking for a variance from the zoning board in order to display those things."

Wally Bakko stocks a new item on a shelf Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Wally's Supermarket in Marysville. Plans are in the works to open a Tractor Supply Co. in part of the building at 3200 Gratiot Ave.

Fernandez said the zoning board will also discuss fencing issues during the meeting since the store requires fencing around other outdoor storage. He said no other city approvals are needed to allow the Tractor Supply to move forward.

Fernandez said that Tractor Supply is not a done deal yet and even if the zoning board votes to allow the variance, there are still other corporate negotiations the company has to work through before fully committing to Marysville.

"Marysville is pro-business," Fernandez said. "We welcome all business to our fair city and we will work with them in any way to make their dreams a reality. I wouldn't think they would be coming if they didn't think there was a market for their products in our area."

The zoning board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Marysville City Hall, 1111 Delaware Ave.

It is not clear if the new development will impact the current Port Huron Township location.

Tractor Supply Co. located on 32nd Street in Port Huron Township.

Contact Nicole Hayden at (810) 989-6279 or nhayden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHayden_TH.

If you go

• The zoning board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. May 12 at Marysville City Hall, 1111 Delaware Ave., Port Huron.