Durant City Council in its regular meeting Aug.12 voted on an economic development agreement that will bring an Albertsons grocery store to Durant.
The city said it is committed to pursuing strategic investments that strengthen the local economy and enhance quality of life for residents. Albertsons will be constructed on Radio Road in the former Alorica building that previously was the Dollar Saver grocery store.
“As a city and the administration, we feel that this is an important milestone in our process and one of the necessary steps to move forward,” said City Manager Pam Polk. “There are still some steps for Albertsons to clear up … but this agreement lays the foundation for what could be a significant investment in our community.”
The City of Durant’s commitments to the agreement are: - $2 million Net Present Value sales tax rebate to Albertsons - Radio Road improvements at an estimated cost of $300,000 - Permitting fee waivers as determined by the council - Expedited review and permitting - Impact fee: Grandfathered exemption if implemented The city cited the following community benefits that are assumptions based on Ardmore for discussion: - Residents have voiced a clear need for additional grocery supply - Addresses critical market need: 2024-2025 is at a $38 million gap - Strengthens quality of life and increased access to food - Project incentivized to open before 2026 holidays - 150-plus permanent jobs with $5 million in annual payroll - Reinvestment into an idle commercial asset - Builds value in West Durant and overall market - Potential for a regional economic stimulator Kathy Moore, economic development director for the city, said the contract is an incentive for Albertsons that includes certain agreements as part of the project, including street improvements.
“So, the main thing there is for us to have a grocery store,” Moore said. “Radio Road needs improvements because while the building was a grocery store originally built in the 80s, life has changed and things don’t fit like they used to. For example, the turn lane on Radio Road isn’t long enough for this type of semi that needs to go there. So, we’re going to have to re-stripe Radio Road, adjust some of the entrances into the property, adjust the curve. It’s called a cutout so that a semi can turn and there’s space to do that. So, they’ll be some drainage adjustments that happen also and then one thing specifically that we committed to make where Shamrock (Lane) hits Radio Road, that will be a four-way stop to modulate traffic and for safety getting in and out.
“They have done the preliminary engineering on what has to happen there, so it looks like there’s widening, but parts of the road have to go out like that and they have to do specific turns in and out to make it safe. We’re improving the road and the engineers are figuring that out as we speak.”
According to Moore, the contract states the store will open in the spring of 2027, but Albertsons has its own incentives to open before the 2026 holidays.
Moore said the city obtained data that revealed a need.
“One of the first things Pam and I both heard when we got here from the residents is we need a grocery store,” Moore said. “There’s not enough. We’d like more selection, and of course, data always tells the story. So, we started doing the research and we pulled the data and paid for data to see exactly what is happening in Durant and how does the data tell a story, and so we learned pretty early on that in Bryan County in 2024, there was $97 million that the people in Bryan County spent on groceries. When we narrow down to Durant, we learned that the grocery demand alone in Durant in that same time frame was $85 million, but the supply on the ground was $47 million. So, that means in 2024, there was $38 million of grocery that Durant alone was unable to meet and so that’s called leakage. We were able to tell where that leakage went and not unsurprisingly, it went to Texas.
“So, in every way, yes, Durant needed a grocery store. Once we had the data, then we could enter a conversation with a retailer in a much more educated way.”
According to Moore, the city not only committed to Radio Road improvements, but also agreed to waiving the fee for necessary permits.
“We committed to expedited review and permitting,” Moore said.
“There’s no money in the general fund that we’re putting up front and we’re not taking anything away from some other part of the city to incentivise.”
Moore spoke about the sales tax rebate to Albertsons.
“This has nothing to do about them not collecting sales tax or paying sales tax on their construction,” Moore said. “What this is that the project, Albertsons, is going to be an economic generator in the community and the grocery store is going to generate sales tax. So, a portion of the tax that the project creates, the future tax is in turn put into the project. So, it’s similar to a TIF except instead of bonding and taking out a loan, this is where it’s going to end.
“It goes back to the project for the building. It’ll rebate after the project is opening is what that does. It is generated off of the sales tax that the city collects. So, I go through and I buy a $100 worth of groceries and $4.38 goes to the City of Durant, and so 2.38 is already obligated goes to the school. All the different things and two percent is not obligated and so it’s out of that two percent that the city gets off of that project that then we are taking a portion of that and incentivizing this project. It’s part of this building. It’s what helps this project get on the ground.”
Moore is happy that a place that has been vacant will be brought back to life. She said when a building is vacant for too long, it becomes a blight.
“It is a big deal for Durant and I’m super excited,” Moore said.
