GIS Final Project:

Supermarket Site Selection

Auburn, AL

MILES BATEMAN & THOMAS ZHANG

DECEMBER 2, 2015

BSEN 6220: GEOSPATIAL TECH FOR BIOSYSTEMS

INSTRUCTOR: DR. PUNEET SRIVASTAVA

Introduction

Purpose:

Locate the most suitable area in Auburn for establishing a shopping center in order

to meet the consumption demands of a growing Auburn community.

Geospatial Program

ArcMap 10.2

Sources of Information:

1. Data was collected by the City of Auburn and was attained from sources at the

Ralph Brown Draughon Library and on the Auburn University ftp site.

2. Codes and Ordinances were provided by the City of Auburn website.

Assumptions

The data collected by CoA in 2011 is currently valid for analysis purposes

The supermarket will be designated as a ‘Community Shopping Center’

The selected land for the supermarket should be undeveloped

No zoning alterations are allowed

Parcels selected are available for purchase and development

Land values attained from CoA are current

Design Criteria

High-traffic Roadways (Arterial Roads)

Undeveloped land (No existing structures)

Zoning Restrictions (Commercial Property)

Lot size ( > 3 acres)

Proximity to Direct Competitors ( > 1 miles)

Roads, Streams, Railroads (Buffer Criteria provided by CoA)

City of Auburn: Design Regulations

Acceptable Zoning for Supermarket Development

CoA Zoning Ordinance (July 2015) – Article IV Section 402.01

Stream Buffer (100’ Buffer for Watershed > 640 acres)

CoA Zoning Ordinance (July 2015) – Article IV Section 413.04

Railroad Buffer (15’ Buffer for Commercial Property)

CoA Zoning Ordinance (July 2015) – Article IV Section 421

Parking Lot Requirements (100,000 sf or greater for supermarket)

CoA Zoning Ordinance (July 2015) – Article V Section 509.02

Analysis

To begin the analysis, all of the CoA buffers and zoning requirements were considered.

In order to maintain road visibility and ease of access, the supermarket location was limited to 400 feet from the road.

To account for necessary parking space, a separate road buffer of 200 feet was created to eliminate smaller properties.

The identity tool was used to connect the selected areas with actual parcels in order to meet the 3 acre lot size criteria.

Areas located in flood plains were erased from the selection.

General slope considerations were made using a contour shape file.

2014 aerial photographs gathered from the CoA website were reviewed after the initial analysis to recognize properties with recently added structures.

Selected Areas

The following locations along Shug

Jordan Parkway all met the criteria set

by our analysis.

However, because the data used was

slightly dated, two of the supermarket

locations that were selected already

exist or are currently under

construction.

Number 5 on the map is currently

being developed into a

neighborhood Walmart.

Number 11 is actually a Publix.

With this additional knowledge, we

would not recommend any of these

locations for a supermarket.

Selected Areas

Location:

Northeast Auburn along US HWY 280

Advantages:

• Close proximity to two roads with heavy

traffic (North College St. & US HWY 280)

• Nearby Subdivisions:

Asheton Lakes

Tuscany Hills

Stonewood Farms

Tivoli

• Far from direct competitors

Selected Areas

Parcel #: 0903050000004001

Zip Code: 36831

Street: Watercrest Drive

Land $: 713,630

Tax $: 3853.44

Acres: 25.53

Owner: Farmville Lakes LLC

Selected Areas

Location:

Southwest Auburn along South College St.

Advantages:

• Close proximity to two major roadways,

I-85 and South College St.

• Nearby Subdivisions:

Mill Creek

Timberwood

The Greens at Auburn

Southern Creek Crossing

• Lower Tax Cost

• Easily accessible from the interstate

Selected Areas

Parcel #: 1906140000005000

Zip Code: 36830

Address: 1695 East University Dr.

Subdivision: Brantley Crossing Plat 35-13

Land $: 692,760

Tax $: 56.16

Acres: 18.79

Owner: Brantley Land LLC

Summary

The purpose of this study was to locate the most suitable area in Auburn for

establishing a new shopping center.

Several assumptions were made to limit our scale of study.

Design criteria was considered along with regulations and codes set by the City of Auburn.

The analysis was conducted using data collected from the City of Auburn in

2011 and was performed in the ArcGIS program, ArcMap 10.2.

Two locations were ultimately decided upon, each with several addressed

advantages.

Acknowledgements

Ralph Brown Draughon Library - Christopher Mixon

Provided link for online CoA data resources

Corley Building – Dr. Mark Dougherty

Provided data on the Auburn University ftp site

Corley Building – Dr. Puneet Srivastava

Provided further analysis instructions for consideration