Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce

11/8/2007 - Publix confirmed for High Pointe

Publix confirmed for High Point

By Don Fletcher
Progress staff writer

November 7, 2007

After months of speculation, city officials and officials of the Birmingham developer for Prattville's High Point Town Center officially confirmed Tuesday that retail grocery giant Publix Super Markets will build a 54,000-square-foot facility in the local shopping complex.

The supermarket will join Bass Pro Shops, JC Penney, Belk and other as-yet-unnamed major retailers as anchors of the 900,000-square-foot center, just off Cobbs Ford Road. Publix will become the first retail grocery outlet to locate in either of the two massive shopping complexes being developed in the area.

Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr. was to officially make the Publix announcement during Tuesday night's city council meeting. Byard said Tuesday morning that company officials had given him the green light to publicly announce construction of the new store, and that officials of AIG Baker Real Estate told him that the local supermarket would be the company's most spacious in the River Region.

"It's a done deal," Byard said. "I have been told that a lease has been signed and that everything is in place to go ahead. The Prattville Publix store will be larger than any of their stores in the Montgomery trade area."

Site preparation for the new store is expected to begin before the end of this month, with construction to begin prior to the end of the year. The supermarket is expected to open next summer, according to officials of AIG Baker. Byard said the developer also reported that the new JC Penney store is scheduled to open for business next August, with Belk's new retail outlet set to follow suit in October.

The announcement ended months of speculation about the company's plans after reports of Publix's intentions appeared in several area media outlets in August. A sign announcing the inclusion of the grocery as part of the High Point complex was placed near the construction site, but was later removed.

Byard said the long recruitment process was enhanced by public input.

"This is one of the things we've been really working on," he said. "It's nice to be able to publicly announce that such an upscale business is coming, one that folks who live here and folks that will be moving here have said they really want and need."

Publix was founded in 1930, in Winter Haven, Fla., by George W. Jenkins, and is now headquartered in Lakeland, Fla. The company consists of 918 stores spread throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, along with eight distribution centers and five manufacturing facilities.

Publix Super Markets, Inc. employs more than 143,000 associates and is the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States, according to the company's Web site. The corporation reported retail sales of $21.7 billion in 2006.

Byard said AIG Baker officials told him that Publix plans to employ "between 75 and 125" associates, most of them expected to come from the River Region.

The mayor said location here of the company's newest store would provide a boost to the city's image and to its coffers.

"It's one of those amenities that helps a growing city, as far as its image," he said. "It will also help with the revenue the city receives. Publix has a very nice reputation and will add to that of the other grocers in our area."

The company is also known for its involvement in fundraisers for thousands of local organizations and its participation in five major charitable projects. Publix has been a Special Olympics sponsor for 33 years and has provided corporate sponsorship and company-wide participation in annual March of Dimes, Children's Miracle Network, United Way and Food for All projects.

Publix officials had not responded by press time to email messages requesting comment and information regarding the company's newest store, its 29th in Alabama.

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