The matter of whether or not to allow the former Kroger building in downtown Vandalia to be used as a storage facility will again be discussed by the Planning Commission and ultimately again decided on by the Vandalia City Council.
The City of Vandalia received a request from First Federal Properties and Brad Bowman, who is the manager of the former Kroger building, to allow indoor storage on the property. Bowman said in a letter to the City of Vandalia the owner of the building was making the request.
The matter was a topic of discussion for a few months during 2024 when developers Chase Alcorn and Bobby Berenneisen of Centralia wanted to purchase the property and make it into a storage facility. The property is not zoned for that and the matter then went to the Planning Commission to see if a storage facility could be allowed for a downtown commercial property. The matter then came back to the City Council and they voted 5 to 2 against allowing the change of the zoning—with Aldermen Andy Lester, Kenny Lewey, Ken Hubler, Bob Bowen and Russ Stunkel voting No and Aldermen Bret Brosman and Steve Barker voting Yes.
At last night’s meeting, City Administrator LaTisha Paslay asked City Attorney Ryan Connor if referring the matter to the Planning Commission was the right decision this time, being it has already went that route in the past. Connor said going back to the Planning Commission was the right call.
Alderman Andy Lester–who was against allowing the storage facilities in the property last year–says he’s still not in favor.
Alderman Bob Bowen, who was also against the matter last year, said he was fine with bringing the matter back for further discussion as they often change their mind on matters over time. In the letter to the City, Bowman mentions that since the matter was denied last year they have had similar requests from other parties. However, he says they lose interest when they learn the City denied the request last year. The former Kroger building in Vandalia has remained vacant since 2005.
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