Houston To Spend $13.8 Million On Land For H-E-B Grocery Store

The Houston City Council this week approved the purchase of property in the Third Ward that will eventually be occupied by an H-E-B grocery store.

The nine-acre parcel occupies the corner of Texas Highway 288 and North MacGregor Way, and the $13.8 million for the acquisition will come from federal funds.

The city plans to to lease the property to H-E-B, which plans to construct a 72,000-square-foot grocery store there.

At least one person who lives in the area is happy about the H-E-B deal: “I’ll be able to get to the grocery store a lot easier, a lot faster," Lisa Johnson, a local resident, told Houston Public Media.

At least one council member voiced concern about the deal, because the area is not officially a food desert.

“When I see the fact that this is not actually a food desert, and we do have food deserts in this city, I’m wondering why we’re doing that in this area when there are true food deserts,” said Greg Travis during the council meeting.

Food deserts are classified as areas in which at least 500 residents or one-third of the population there live more than a mile away from a large grocery store.

Travis, along with fellow council member Larry Green, voted against the H-E-B deal, which is scheduled to be completed within 120 days.

— Image courtesy H-E-B