NewQuest Properties broke ground earlier this month on a new 124,000-square-foot Kroger grocery store, which is slated to open in Katy by spring 2015.



The new location, located at the corner of Spring Green Boulevard and FM 1463, is designated to be a Kroger Marketplace, which features food, apparel and home goods.



The grocery retailer began opening Marketplaces in Texas in 2009, and the concept has become ideal for growing communities especially in suburban areas such as Katy, said Kristal Howard, public relations manager for Kroger.



"With those larger [Marketplace] stores you need the land and space to do that," she said. "You can't do that in the middle of downtown Houston. That concept has done well in suburban thriving communities."



With five Kroger locations sprinkled throughout the Katy area, the new location is anticipating to add more than 300 temporary and full-time jobs to the local economy.



"We're eager to add a new store to the Katy community," Howard said.