Dallas City Council approves incentive package for Kroger online grocery fulfillment center

DALLAS - The Dallas City Council has approved an incentive package as they work to bring a Kroger online grocery fulfillment center to southern Dallas.

The council voted unanimously to approve the deal on Wednesday.

This package is in relation to a proposed 350,000-square-foot robotic grocery fulfillment center on the northwest corner of Telephone and Bonnie View roads in Southeast Oak Cliff, which could be open as soon as 2023.

As part of the deal, the city would include “a nomination for designation as a Texas Enterprise Zone project, property tax abatements and $2 million in 2012 economic development bond funds meant to offset public improvements required at the site,” according to a release from the city.

But in order for Kroger to get this deal, their facility would have to create at least 410 jobs that include Dallas residents. There would also be a $15 minimum wage set for all of these employees.

The grocery fulfillment center would allow at-home grocery deliveries to all Dallas homes, and Kroger has committed to not exclude any Dallas neighborhoods from being able to receive deliveries.

It’s estimated the city would see a $500,000 sales tax payment each year from the facility.

"I believe it’s sending the message — along with what we did a couple weeks ago with the Uber deal — that Dallas is truly a twenty-first-century city, and we’re open for business,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.

Councilman Tennell Atkins represents the district where the facility would go.

“I think this is a done deal. It’s just a matter of cleaning it up,” he said. “This is a game-changer. People in my part of the community, you got Wilmer Hutchins High School, J Irving. You got UNT, Paul Quinn and no grocery store.”

Included in the deal, Kroger would also be required to partner with Dallas ISD and Richardson ISD P-TECH programs.

This will also help Dallas colleges, as Kroger will meet with Paul Quinn College, the University of North Texas at Dallas, and Cedar Valley “to discuss workforce collaborations.”

Kroger will also look into southern Dallas for a possible store site, and look into remodeling its Wynnewood Village store.

Councilman Atkins expects a deal to be done in the next 30-90 days.