Mayor Kasim Reed, alongside members of the Atlanta City Council, Dr. Eloisa Klementich, and representatives of Publix, cut the ribbon to announce the grand opening of a Publix grocery store at Moores Mill. The new Publix, part of the first phase of the $95 million shopping center development, opened for business later that morning.

“Today marks a great day for Atlanta’s upper Westside, and we’re proud to partner with Publix on this development effort,” said Herbert Ames, Vice President of Southeast for EDENS, the project developer. “Publix and Moores Mill have already proven to be a community catalyst for this corridor, sparking significant interest and investment throughout the neighborhood.”

The shopping center, originally envisioned over a decade ago, will house a grocery store in an area of Atlanta that has lacked this resource for years. Construction on the second phase of the center will begin this summer, with plans for up to 345 apartments and 15,000 square-feet of retail space.

Invest Atlanta was instrumental in getting this project across the finish line. In 2015, the board approved $500,000 from the Perry Bolton TAD bond issue to fund the extension Moores Mill Road from Bolton Road into the shopping center, including new traffic signalization at the nearby intersection. This infrastructure work was integral to the redevelopment of the Moores Mill Shopping Center and the construction of a Publix grocery store as the anchor tenant.

“It’s kind of funny that we’re that excited about the opening of a grocery store but it’s that important to this side of town,” Kevin Shankwiler, a resident of the area, told CBS46. “It really means a lot to the future development that’s going to happen over here.”