MBS Urban Initiatives CDE Invests $7.5 million in Food City Huntsville
MBS Urban Initiatives CDE (MBS-UI) has closed on a $7.5MM New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment for a new Food City supermarket in Huntsville, AL.
Adjacent to the mixed-use Stovehouse Entertainment district, and just ½ mile from the Mill Creek Choice Neighborhood, Food City will be an important contributor to the economic and social development currently underway in the heart of Huntsville.
The 33,375 square-foot grocery store will include a wide array of healthy foods, a bakery and deli, floral boutique, Starbucks café, and pharmacy. Upon completion, the store is projected to supply healthy food choices to 19,023 individuals annually (87% low income), as well as create 131 new full-time jobs (98% low income).
Additionally, MBS-UI is working in conjunction with the non-profit Urban Strategies, Inc. and Food City to create a complementary job training program in the Mill Creek community. Program participants will be trained on the entry-level job skills needed for the Huntsville store. Upon completion of the program, Food City hopes to recruit area residents to fill available job positions.
In July 2024, the City of Huntsville and the Huntsville Housing Authority (HHA) were awarded a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant for the Johnson Towers and Butler Terrace public housing properties and the surrounding Mill Creek neighborhood. McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS), an affiliate company to MBS-UI, is the Housing Developer on the project. During the planning for the CNI application with the City and Housing Authority of Huntsville, residents expressed a desire for a grocery store in the community.
“This investment emphasizes the aim of MBS-UI to supplement the deeply impactful work of MBS in housing,” said Vincent R. Bennett, President and CEO of McCormack Baron Salazar. “Food City will provide additional resources that are essential to supporting a thriving and sustainable urban community.”
MBS UI partnered with the K-VA-T/Food City team, Truist Community Capital (provided $1.5 MM of NMTC allocation and served as tax credit equity investor), and BDO (project consultant) to pave the way for healthy food access and quality jobs in the Mill Creek community.