COLONIE — Price Chopper wants to turn a Latham location into a company flagship with a cooking school, an outdoor seating area and a drive-through pharmacy.

Golub Corp. officials have been tight-lipped about plans for the Route 9 store since they announced more than a year ago that it would become the company's flagship location.

But at a Colonie Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, a company official said the Latham store would be transformed into a research and development location for the entire company.

"This is the store of the decade," said Bill Sweet, vice president for engineering and construction.

The high-volume store will include offers that are only available at that location. The company is also planning a sharp increase in the amount of prepared foods it sells, similar to a nearby competitor. An outdoor courtyard area will be accessible from the store to cater to a lunch-time crowd. The location would also add a number of jobs because of a 10,000 square foot expansion.

Doreen Bango told the board it should not grant any variances because trash is regularly left outside the store and a constant volume of delivery trucks idling has made living nearby torturous. She and others neighbors said the garbage had caused mouse problems in their homes and that flooding and blowing trash would only increase if the store grew.

"It's just a horrible way to live," she said.

The board unanimously approved the variance with one abstention.

The company has planned the expansion in a corridor heavy with grocery stores since at least July 2010.

The existing 77,000-square-foot store would expand in to the former Bon-Ton department store.

The quiet expansion attempt is a significant play in what is shaping up to be a major competition for customers in the area. On the other side of Route 9, in the Latham Farms shopping complex, is the Capital Region flagship store for Hannaford, the Maine-based supermarket chain.

The Fresh Market, a gourmet grocery chain, opened its first Capital Region store a mile to the south. Wal-Mart proposed the construction of a supercenter along Route 9, but the plans were rejected by the town. The Schenectady-based chain is also facing competition from ShopRite, which is aggressively moving in to the area.