Vestavia Hills approves incentive package for Walmart grocery store at former Winn-Dixie site

The Vestavia Hills City Council approved an economic-development agreement Monday night, June 15, supporting a planned Walmart Neighborhood Market at 3925 Crosshaven Drive in Cahaba Heights. WBRC reported the action June 16.

The agreement changes the status of the former Winn-Dixie property from a vacant grocery site to an approved redevelopment proposal backed by a city incentive. It does not mean the Walmart store is open, that construction has started or that a public opening date has been set.

What Walmart is planning

The proposal calls for the existing building at the former Winn-Dixie site to be demolished and replaced with an approximately 45,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market.

The planned store is expected to provide grocery services as well as a pharmacy and general merchandise. Walmart indicated that it plans to invest at least $20 million in the project.

For people who shop in Cahaba Heights, the redevelopment could bring grocery service back to a location that has remained vacant since Winn-Dixie closed. The approved agreement therefore supports a retail project with a direct connection to grocery access at the Crosshaven Drive address, although the source packet does not establish when that access would return.

How the city incentive works

Under the approved agreement, Vestavia Hills would rebate 46.875% of the local sales-tax revenue generated by the store for 10 years. The incentive is capped at $3 million.

The arrangement is described as a sales-tax rebate tied to the planned store’s future sales. The available reporting does not describe the incentive as a direct cash payment and does not provide additional agreement terms beyond the reported percentage, duration and cap.

That means the city’s obligation, as reported, would depend on sales generated by the store if the project proceeds and the store opens. The packet does not provide an estimate of future sales-tax collections or explain how quickly the $3 million cap might be reached.

What remains unresolved

The council’s vote is final approval of the city’s economic-development agreement, but the Walmart project itself remains planned. The source material does not say that demolition or construction is underway.

No construction start date, demolition schedule or store opening date was provided. The reporting also does not state that Walmart has committed to opening by a particular deadline. Those next steps remain unknown based on the approved source material.

For now, the confirmed development is the June 15 council approval of the incentive agreement for the proposed redevelopment at 3925 Crosshaven Drive. Whether the vacant site becomes a Walmart Neighborhood Market, and when, will depend on the project moving forward.