The City Council will explore using tax incentives to persuade Tom Thumb to build a new supermarket in southern Dallas.
At their meeting on Wednesday, council members will hear a pitch from City staff that, if approved, would authorize up to $5.8 million in tax breaks for the grocery chain.
The location of the prospective supermarket would be in the RedBird redevelopment project in southern Oak Cliff — a part of town where a lack of grocery stores has been perceived, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
Adding a grocery store to the redevelopment would meet a significant need for the hundreds of new residents living at the Palladium RedBird apartment complex, according to investor Peter Brodsky, one of the financial backers of the RedBird project, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The tax incentives council members will consider include property tax abatements and sales tax grants. However, the incentive plan is contingent on Tom Thumb creating at least 90 permanent jobs at the location that pay, on average, $15 per hour. Additionally, 40% of the full-time jobs created must go to Dallas residents, according to the resolution under consideration Wednesday.
News of the possible incentive package prompted some social media users to reflect on the merits of the proposal.
One user wrote, “Usually, I’m kinda on the fence when it comes to things like this. But I fully support this since the area truly needs more fresh food options. I think tax incentives are appropriate for situations like this. We need to do all that we can to make sure that everyone has access to fresh quality food.”
Another countered, “[W]e shouldn’t give them free money just to do it. That’s money that could [go] to arts or public parks or anything useful other than extortion.”
It is unclear whether the measure has the votes to pass. However, at least one council member, Tennell Atkins of District 8, is known to prioritize grocery store construction highly, as previously reported in The Dallas Express. The prospective location for the new Tom Thumb is in the western portion of Atkins’ district.
