District 7 City Councilman Reggie Gaffney said he expects Winn-Dixie to open in January in the Gateway Town Center space that Publix Super Markets Inc. will vacate Dec. 28.
“We are on third base ready to cross the plate on Winn-Dixie,” Gaffney told WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Recordon Tuesday, regarding the supermarket in the Brentwood area of Jacksonville.
Gaffney said Jacksonville Office of Economic Development Executive Director Kirk Wendland is talking with Winn-Dixie about city funding available to ensure the area does not become a food desert. Wendland was not immediately available for comment.
An urban food desert is an area without a full-service supermarket within one mile. City Council earmarked $3 million from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund to assist grocers to move into neighborhoods without access.
Gaffney specified that a Winn-Dixie store would take the Publix space and not its sister brand, Harveys Supermarkets. Both banners are part of Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers Inc.
Publix operates at 5210 Norwood Ave. in Gateway. Harveys operates about a mile away.
Gaffney said that he or Mayor Lenny Curry will soon file legislation for the deal that Wendland strikes with Winn-Dixie.
“I feel real good about it,” Gaffney said.
Gaffney said previously the city could offer the next tenant for the Publix space $500,000 to $700,000 from the fund. He said Tuesday he did not know the value of the incentives that could be offered to Winn-Dixie.
An expanded version of this story is at JaxDailyRecord.
