New partner means long-delayed Save-A-Lot store construction could start in February

BRADENTON -- Honor Capital, a veteran-owned business specializing in opening Save-A-Lot grocery stores in underserved and distressed communities, has provided a boost in confidence construction will begin in early 2016 on the Minnie L. Rogers Plaza on the corner of First Street and 13th Avenue West.

Milwaukee-based developer Endeavor Corp. is still the lead in a project that has floundered for years.

"Everything is in position from the construction perspective and permit approvals," said Endeavor owner Randy Roth. "We are literally ready to drop a shovel in the ground."

Nearby residents have heard that before. Whispers of a much-needed neighborhood grocery store to fill the gap in an area considered to be a fresh-food desert began in 2006, culminating in an October 2012 groundbreaking ceremony by city officials in the presence of Rogers' descendants. Predictions and timelines have come and gone several times since, but with the involvement of Kansas City, Mo., based-Honor Capital and a deadline to close on $6 million in federal tax credits looming, Roth said the pressure is mounting.

"US Bank has given strict instructions to close by the end of the year," said Roth. "Now we are feeling the pressure to close and everybody involved is feeling the heat."

The project was initially estimated to cost $6 million in 2012, but delays have construction costs rising to $7.5 million. Honor Capital coming on board as a part owner, and an approval of state tax credits last week, now has everything in place for work to begin.

That's good news for Central Community Redevelopment Director Tim Polk, who will retire in late January. The Rogers Plaza has been a proverbial albatross for Polk, who said he wanted closure before he left.

"I'm moving forward and closing out the curtain on my career," he said. "As the CCRA, it's more than a job. It's a ministry. We believe in helping people transform their lives into productive lives. Often, we are their first source for help."

Marcus Scarborough, one of Honor Capital's vice presidents and an U.S. Navy veteran, said the Save-A-Lot mission to serve those in need attracted the firm to work with the company.

"We started to learn about all these food deserts and, for some strange reason, we wanted to take this on across the country," said Scarborough. "Save-A-Lot goes into the most underserved and distressed communities and allows us to go into those communities the bigger chains can't go. It's the perfect solution for underserved communities to provide the most basic commodity to people."

Endeavor expects to close on the loans by the end of the year with construction to start in February.

Construction will create about 125 temporary jobs with hiring beginning six weeks before work begins. The development agreement requires local labor.

Tandem Construction of Sarasota has been named contractor.

Construction is expected to take about 10 months and Roth estimates store employees will be hired from the neighborhood in September. The plaza also will feature other retail space with opportunities for new local businesses, and a possible national restaurant chain, creating additional employment opportunities.

Roth said the project will open other doors as well.

"What else is good about this project is it will help other eligible projects that require a nearby grocery store," he said. "The CCRA will be able to begin looking at those revitalization projects when this is done."

When it is done, Roth said, it will have been worth all the effort and frustration.

"Nothing has changed on design," he said. "It will complement and respect what's occurring along that corridor. It will be the most beautiful grocery store you will ever see and unlike any other Save-A-Lot. As a free-standing building, it gave us a lot of architectural freedom. It's going to be a beautiful plaza."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "New partner means long-delayed Save-A-Lot store construction could start in February ."