For the first time in more than a decade, Kimberly is getting a grocery store.
On Thursday, September 24, 2026, the Jefferson County Commission approved an economic development incentive package for a Publix-anchored retail center on Highway 31 in Kimberly, according to BirminghamWatch. Commissioners Lashunda Scales, Joe Knight and Sheila Tyson voted yes. Commission President Jimmie Stephens, who had questioned how the deal was funded, abstained, and Commissioner Mike Bolin was absent.
ABC 33/40 reports the development is estimated at $30 million. The Publix will anchor the center, with additional retail space planned. A construction start date, a Publix opening date and the names of the other tenants have not been announced.
If you own a house in Kimberly, Warrior, Morris or anywhere along the Highway 31 corridor north of Gardendale, this is the kind of news that changes what your property is worth and who wants to buy it. Here is what was actually approved, what it will do to the area, and how to think about your timing.
What the county approved
The incentive is a rebate of 1% of the sales tax the development generates, paid to Blackwater Real Estate Kimberly, LLC. It is capped at $1 million or a five-year term, whichever comes first.
County Attorney Theo Lawson told commissioners the rebate is performance based. The developer only receives money in proportion to the sales tax the center actually produces. Lawson cited Amendment 772, which allows public dollars to go to private projects that carry a public benefit, as the authority for the deal.
County Economic Development Adviser Jeff Traywick said the project is expected to create 67 jobs at an average wage of $16.64 an hour, and to return about $1.8 million to the county general fund and about $3.8 million in education revenue over ten years.
Traywick was candid that the county rarely subsidizes retail. Retail usually goes where it wants to go without public help. This site was different, he said, because it faces adverse conditions that raise construction costs, and because it puts a quality grocery store in an area that has none.
Why this corner of the county has been waiting
Kimberly resident Regina Burgett told ABC 33/40 that her family has lived in the city for almost 26 years and has been without a grocery store for at least ten to twelve of them. Shopping has meant driving 20 to 35 miles, sometimes to Hoover.
That is the definition of a food desert, and it is a real disadvantage when a house in Kimberly or Morris is competing for the same buyer as a house in Gardendale or Fultondale, where groceries are a short drive away. Take that disadvantage away and the math for a family moving north on I-65 changes.
Kimberly Mayor Richard Dixon told ABC 33/40 the city has traditionally been residential and needs to expand its tax base with commercial development so residents can eat, work and shop without leaving town. The city expects the Publix to attract more businesses to the Highway 31 corridor.
Traywick also pointed out that the center sits close to the county’s agricultural center, the Farm Center, which is in development just outside Warrior. Two publicly backed projects landing within a few miles of each other on the same highway is a signal about where the county expects growth.
The road work is the part most owners will feel first
Before anyone buys a gallon of milk, the roads are going to change. Mayor Dixon told ABC 33/40 that Highway 31 and Stouts Road will look totally different, with widening, a new traffic signal and completely redesigned entrances to the shopping center.
If your house fronts Highway 31 or sits near the Stouts Road intersection, that cuts both ways. A widened highway and a signal make a commercial parcel far more valuable and a residential one noisier. Owners of older homes right on the corridor sometimes find that the land is worth more to a commercial buyer than the house is worth to a family, but only once the road work is defined. Owners a few streets back get the upside of the grocery store without the traffic.
Either way, expect a construction period measured in months, not weeks, and expect it to affect showings, curb appeal and buyer patience along that stretch.
Sell now, or wait for the Publix to open?
This is the real question, and the honest answer depends on your house and your situation.
If your house is updated and you can wait. Amenities like a new grocery anchor tend to lift demand gradually, and the biggest bump usually comes when the store is open and visible rather than when the incentive is approved. If you have a move-in ready house and no pressure to sell, there is a case for holding through the construction period.
If your house needs work, or you need to move. Waiting for a store that has no announced construction date to lift the value of a house that needs a roof, a foundation repair or a full cleanout is a bet, not a plan. Repairs cost the same before and after the Publix opens. Carrying costs, taxes, insurance and utilities keep running while you wait. And a buyer who wants your house for the location will still discount it for its condition.
If you own a rental or an inherited house in Kimberly, Warrior or Morris. Tenant turnover, a vacant property that needs securing, or a family estate that nobody wants to manage from out of town are all situations where a fast, certain sale beats a theoretical gain two years from now.
At Birmingham Homebuyers, we have been buying houses across Jefferson County for 30+ years, and north Jefferson County is a big part of that. We buy as-is, we pay cash, and we close on your schedule, whether that is two weeks or two months. If you want to know what your house on or near the Highway 31 corridor is worth today, get a cash offer and we will give you a real number with no obligation.
We buy houses in Kimberly, Warrior, Gardendale, Fultondale and across the Birmingham metro. With an A+ BBB rating and 75+ five-star reviews, Birmingham Homebuyers is the local option when you want a straightforward sale without repairs, showings or agent fees.
Sources
- BirminghamWatch, “JeffCo approves incentive package for Kimberly retail development,” Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Sept. 24, 2026: https://birminghamwatch.org/2026/09/24/jeffco-approves-incentive-package-for-kimberly-retail-development/
- BirminghamWatch, “County considers incentives for development to address food desert in Kimberly area,” Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Sept. 22, 2026: https://birminghamwatch.org/2026/09/22/county-considers-incentives-for-development-to-address-food-desert-in-kimberly-area/
- ABC 33/40 (WBMA), “After years without a grocery store, Kimberly prepares for Publix and more growth,” Emily Cundiff, Sept. 25, 2026: https://abc3340.com/news/local/after-years-without-a-grocery-store-kimberly-prepares-for-publix-and-more-growth