DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The Dallas City Council has unanimously approved incentives for a grocery store in the southern part of the city. Tom Thumb will build a 50,000 square foot grocery store at the corner of Camp Wisdom and Westmoreland near the site of the RedBird Mall.
Developer Peter Brodsky has been rebuilding the mall as a mixed use site with apartments, businesses, restaurants and healthcare.
Tom Thumb will build its store at the southeast corner of the intersection. The store will have groceries, a bakery, deli, produce, floral and a pharmacy.
"They were saying what drew them to this site was the fact that so much activity was happening, so much investment had occurred, it seemed like a safer bet than other places they had looked, so the investments are working," says Dallas Office of Economic Development Director Robin Bentley.
The city will provide up to $5.8 million in conditional grants. Dallas will also give a five year business personal property tax abatement equal to the city's taxes assessed on 75% of the increased value.
"This is putting our money where our mouth is," says Councilman Adam Bazaldua. "This is investing in historically underserved communities."
Former Mayor Mike Rawlings launched the "GrowSouth" initiative in 2012 to spark economic development in the part of the city south of I-30. The area makes up half the city's land area but accounted for just 15% of the tax revenue.
"Hats off to him for taking the step and also being brave enough and bold enough to say we must grow south," says Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold.
When GrowSouth launched, the area did not have a grocery store. City leaders say that led to poorer health as residents without the ability to travel to a full-service store would rely on fast food or convenience stores nearby.
"When you've got ten miles of a drive to get to a quality grocery store, there's a problem," Bazaldua says. "That should never be a quality of life that is viewed as a luxury."
In February, the area's first grocery store opened. The independent Food Basket is at 3540 Simpson Stuart, about five miles east of the Tom Thumb site.
The incentives for Tom Thumb passed unanimously, but Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn says since the area is growing on its own, the City of Dallas should not be involved in every business development project.
"The significant investment we've already made was to spur its own independence, not to continue to subsidize every deal that comes forward," she says.
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