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<\/p>\nThe Jacksonville City Council approved a $12 million incentive deal to keep Winn-Dixie’s headquarters in the city, protect a key grocery store, and bring jobs. <\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The Jacksonville City Council approved a $12 million incentive agreement with Winn-Dixie Tuesday night, securing the grocer\u2019s headquarters in the city while also keeping a Harveys Supermarket in Brentwood open through at least February 2029.<\/p>\n
The vote followed hours of public comment and debate centered on concerns that closing the Harvey\u2019s on West 48th Street would leave the neighborhood without access to fresh food.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHarveys is empty \u2014 we need food in that store ASAP,\u201d Brentwood resident Katrina Spencer told council members during public comment.<\/p>\n
Residents packed council chambers, urging city leaders to protect the store which many described as a lifeline for seniors and working families in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to be able to get fresh food, fresh vegetables \u2014 anything that\u2019s going to uplift our community,\u201d longtime shopper Lydia Bell said.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Winn-Dixie will keep its headquarters in Jacksonville, add 200 full-time jobs, retain 500 existing employees and invest $65 million into local operations by the end of 2031.<\/p>\n
About $48 million of that investment is expected to go toward store renovations, according to city documents.<\/p>\n
Council Member Ju\u2019Coby Pittman, who represents the Brentwood area, pushed for additional protections before the bill\u2019s final passage. Her floor amendment requires Winn-Dixie to report back to City Council 18 months before the Harveys lease expires in 2029.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that our seniors, our working families and residents within that area \u2014 to make sure it\u2019s not a food desert,\u201d Pittman said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
Another amendment attached to the bill strengthened accountability measures by establishing annual hiring benchmarks and clawback provisions if Winn-Dixie fails to meet its commitments. The amendment would allow the city to recover incentive money already distributed if the company does not fulfill the agreed-upon terms.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the deal called it a win for Jacksonville\u2019s economy and for food access.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this deal is a win, win, win,\u201d Councilmember Nick Howland said. \u201cIt\u2019s a win for Winn-Dixie; it\u2019s a win for the city of Jacksonville and a win for the community of Brentwood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilmember Rahman Johnson also supported the agreement, saying it was important to ensure Brentwood residents have access to quality food options.<\/p>\n
However, some residents and council members criticized both the process and the incentive package itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething\u2019s wrong with that process,\u201d Brentwood resident Amena Sharif said. \u201cIt should be more time spent on making a decision like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilmember Rory Diamond called the agreement \u201cextortion,\u201d arguing Winn-Dixie created the uncertainty surrounding the Brentwood store.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the ones saying we love Jacksonville but we\u2019re gonna leave if you don\u2019t give us cash,\u201d Diamond said.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Jimmy Peluso also voiced concern about the store\u2019s long-term future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very concerned that in a couple years this store does close and we\u2019re not gonna have an answer on how to put another one there,\u201d Peluso said.<\/p>\n
Following the vote, Winn-Dixie Chairman and CEO Anthony Hucker released this statement:<\/p>\n
We are grateful to Mayor Deegan, the Jacksonville City Council and community leaders for their support and approval of this agreement.
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As Jacksonville\u2019s hometown grocer, this is a meaningful milestone for our company and for the community we have proudly served for generations. Today\u2019s approval is an investment in the future of Jacksonville and in the long-term growth of The Winn-Dixie Company. This decision allows us to move forward with plans to invest $65 million over the next five years in our Jacksonville operations to strengthen our Store Support Center, invest in our local store footprint and support future job growth.
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The Edgewood campus represents an exciting opportunity to establish a long-term home for our Store Support Center \u2014 a world-class workplace designed to foster collaboration, innovation and career development for our associates as we continue building the future of The Winn-Dixie Company. This investment strengthens our ability to serve our communities and meet the evolving needs of our customers.
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We have seen firsthand the passion and engagement from our associates, customers and neighbors who have been at the heart of our story \u2013 and we are proud to continue building our future in Jacksonville for generations to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jacksonville City Council approved a $12 million incentive deal to keep Winn-Dixie’s headquarters in the city, protect…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":792618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-792617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116565356490715127","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}