Planner Hans Madan unveiled the plans for what could be a new Shoppers Drug Mart store. The new commercial project would be built on the site where the Grain of Salt Restaurant now stands. The project would also take in adjacent houses at 1526 and 1546 King St.

Before the project can go ahead, residential property will have to be rezoned for commercial use and the developer will have to convince the city to allow fewer than the required number of parking spots. The developer will also need permission to let the building be built just a metre away from the property line on its west side.

While Madan said the new building would be just like several other big box Shoppers Drug Mart locations across Cambridge, developer Lee Greenwood – a partner in Canadian Commercial Development – said there is no deal in place.

"Shoppers is unconfirmed," said Greenwood, "but we would love to have them as a tenant."

The big box store being proposed is approximately 19,000 square feet in size, which would include a mezzanine in one corner for an office, lunchroom and additional storage.

"It will be roughly the same size as the Zehrs store (across the street)," said Madan.

The store would be built along the Bishop Street side of the property and face a 41-space parking lot on the south side of the two-storey building.

Residents raised a litany of concerns including the height and type of fencing to be built along the perimetre of the property, location of trash bins and what type of trash would be stored, parking lot lighting, construction traffic and associated noise.

Another major issue was concern over traffic. While the proponents suggest there would be no more than 15 vehicles in the parking lot at any one time, residents were concerned about the added volume of traffic, as well as the safety of vehicles trying to make a left-hand turn onto King Street. They also suggested the new store will further complicate traffic at the already busy corner.

City planning staff and the developer will continue to work on the proposal to address neighbourhood concerns. The date that developer will address city council has not been finalized, but it could happen Nov. 7.