A new supermarket is planned in Warrenton, to be built by real estate developer TDG Development.

Although the name of the grocery store being established has not been officially announced, TDG Development is affiliated with The Desco Group, the real estate arm of Schnuck Markets.

The development would be built on a 15-acre property at the northwest side of Highway 47 and Veterans Memorial Parkway, by Walgreens. TDG has a contract to purchase the property, Robert Klahr, an attorney for TDG and Desco, told Warrenton’s Board of Aldermen at an Oct. 3 meeting. 

Klahr said the development will have an estimated 79,000 square feet of retail space, and will include attached space for retail stores around the supermarket. 

The construction would be slated for completion no later than Dec. 31, 2019, and could be finished sooner.

But before TDG takes the final step to close on the property and begin development, it asked the city of Warrenton to agree to the eventual use of a limited sales tax to reimburse over $4.3 million in development costs.

A sales tax of up to 1 percent would be applied to purchases only within that 15-acre property, by establishing what is called a community improvement district (CID) on that property.

Essentially, a CID is a small political subdivision, like a school district. It has the power to levy taxes within its boundaries (the 15 acres) to pay for improvements within its boundaries (the retail development).

An agreement between TDG and the board of aldermen approved Oct. 3 indicates that the board will consider establishing a CID after TDG owns the land and submits a formal petition. The costs intended for reimbursement by the district will be officially defined at that time.

An estimate for the $4.3 million in reimbursable costs from TDG includes work like grading, paving for parking, traffic signage, lighting, landscaping and public utility installation, among other costs.

The taxation and reimbursement within the CID would be controlled by a five-person board of directors. The agreement approved by the board of aldermen states two directors will be selected by the city and three will be representatives of TDG.

Klahr said the CID would be in place for no more than 25 years, and once the infrastructure costs are paid back it would be abolished along with the extra sales tax.

Klahr directed all other questions to TDG representative Franklin Sears, who is vice president of design and construction with The Desco Group. Sears declined a request for additional information.