Mayor: Publix should be open by end of 2014

Published 8:15 am Friday, July 4, 2014

Gardendale has taken its share of flack over the “coming soon” Publix store.

Thanks to numerous delays dating back to 2008, the city has been the butt of jokes and sarcasm regarding the highly anticipated grocery store. 

Today however, it is impossible to deny that the store is indeed rising from the ground. 

Mayor Othell Phillips said customers should be carrying out their purchases by the end of the year; an exact opening date has not been set. 

City officials broke ground on the project a year ago this month in an event that included a big community celebration. 

“We’ve endured skepticism and jokes, even though we all knew we were working hard to make this happen,” said Gardendale City Council President Stan Hogeland in a press release prior to the groundbreaking. 

Preferred Growth Properties, a subsidiary of Books-A-Million Inc., bought the site from Century Retail in a move that spurred the project to finally get off the ground. 

Publix is only part of the overall project; the entire shopping center is being remodeled.

Developers extended the strip mall to the south, and Dollar Tree moved into the new space earlier this year. It had to be relocated in order to make room for Publix. 

Also, construction is set to start in August on T.J. Maxx, which will occupy the empty space next to Hobby Lobby. Another store will reportedly be built on the other side of T.J. Maxx.

Phillips said city leaders should know in a few week what other new businesses are moving into the shopping center.