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Ivey announces road improvement grant to boost Athens’ Food City project - Athens The News Courier
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Ivey announces road improvement grant to boost Athens’ Food City project - Athens The News Courier.Ivey announces road improvement grant to boost Athens’ Food City project Published 5:39 am Saturday, May 30, 2026 Alabama Governor Kay Ivey this week announced $266,660 in federal grant funding for the city of Athens, with the money to be used for road improvements near the site of the new Food City grocery store under construction on the city’s north side.The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant will help to fund improvements at the intersection of West Elm Street and Lucas Ferry Road, where the company is building a 57,000-square-foot supermarket.Food City’s $19.5 million investment includes the grocery store and two adjacent parcels for future developments.When completed, the anchoring grocery store is expected to employ 100 people.Ivey notified Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks earlier this month that the grant had been approved.The city will contribute $322,207 to the project.“As the Huntsville area continues its rapid growth, more people are discovering that Athens and the rest of Limestone County are wonderful places to live,” Ivey said in prepared remarks.“I commend local leaders for meeting the challenge of this growth head-on with strategies to fulfill the needs of current and future residents.I am pleased to support these road improvements which will serve not only this development but further commercial development opportunities and jobs in the future.” In a related award to help advance infrastructure work near the Food City site, Ivey previously announced $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the City of Athens in December of 2025.Earlier in 2025, the governor also announced two grants totaling $800,000 for a separate retail development project in Athens.The Food City project will involve widening the roads and adding deceleration and turning lanes that will serve as entrances to the retail site.City leaders expect the increased customer traffic for the Food City location to attract more businesses, noting that hundreds of acres of surrounding land also are available for future commercial development.The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) administers the ARC program in Alabama.ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments, with a mission goal of strengthening economic growth across the Appalachian region to achieve socioeconomic parity with the rest of the United States.Limestone County is among the 37 Alabama counties that form the state’s portion of the ARC region and are eligible for ARC funding.“These road improvements are needed for this development to move forward and will be crucial for any future developments as well,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said in a release.“ADECA is pleased to join Governor Ivey in support of this project.”