JACKSON TWP — Supervisors gave preliminary approval Thursday to the planned Jackson Village shopping center, including a new Aldi for the township.

Township manager Chris Rearick said developers hope to break ground on the Aldi store — phase one of the project — as soon as possible.

“I mean, they’re already moving in terms of the building process,” he said. “They’re committed.”

Jackson Village shopping center will be located at the intersection of Route 19 and Little Creek Road, along the western side.

The new Aldi will feature a more than 19,000-square-foot shopping center with 85 parking spaces.

Its construction likely will be followed by a more than 7,000-square-foot O’Reilly Auto Parts space and a 3,000-square-foot retail space, according to Rearick, with 34 parking spaces.

The second phase of the project then will be a 6,000-square-foot convenience store and gas station, with a proposed 16 pumps and 27 parking spaces.

Subsequent phases will include four fast food restaurants and a drive-thru bank.

Additionally, the township gave preliminary approval to a planned apartment and office building west of Northgate Plaza.

The development will integrate with surrounding retail centers to become Cooper Shopping Center and Apartments.

“I just want to say ‘hoorah’ for the development out in Little Creek,” supervisor Allan Osterwise said. “We’ve been waiting for a grocery store for a long time.”

Supervisors also approved the rezoning of three tax parcels near the intersection of Log House Lane and Route 19.

Nikki Colton, planning director and zoning officer for the township, said the owners approached the township to rezone their collective 52.8-acre properties from “commercial corridor” to “residential.”

“They have a conceptual plan to make it a housing development that’s about 108 units,” she said. “And it’s a conceptual plan; we don’t have any applications for that at this time.”

Rearick said the owners are looking to develop single-family homes on the properties.

“But the rezoning was the first step in that process,” he said. “By rezoning it, we can’t require them to adhere to any specific plan.”

As of Thursday, Rearick said there was no set timeline for the project.

“We expect to see plans in the near future — likely single family, residential,” he said.