Redevelopment proposal pitched for former Woods site

Jason E. Silvers/Tribune photo The former Woods Supermarket building at 2322 S. Main St., is part of a proposed project that would bring a new redevelopment district to Fort Scott. The building would be transformed into a Price Chopper under a proposed redevelopment plan being reviewed by city officials.

City officials are looking at a proposal that would bring a new redevelopment district to town.

At their Tuesday meeting, Fort Scott City Commissioners are scheduled to consider a resolution concerning the advisability of creating a redevelopment district at 2322 S. Main St. The building on the property most recently housed Woods Supermarket until the business closed in late 2016.

Director of Economic Development Rachel Pruitt said Thursday the proposal for the redevelopment district would include a Price Chopper store at that location.

"What we are doing, we're looking at entering a redevelopment agreement for a Price Chopper," she said.

Pruitt said the joint development would be between Christie Development and Supermarket Developers, Inc., which is under Associated Wholesale Grocers.

"The main developer is entering a joint agreement with the grocery developer," she said. "AWG is the main legal entity."

Pruitt said Woods Supermarket leased the building from a group of attorneys in Arkansas. Some interest has been shown in the property since Woods vacated the building.

"Once Woods went out of business, we started looking at grocery store incentives for a grocery store to open," she said. "The city had little to do with who bought the property. There were several people looking at the property."

Pruitt said city officials are working on options that could be used to finance the project, which has an estimated total cost of about $9.4 million.

One of those options is tax increment financing, or TIF, a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community improvement projects in many countries.