‘Food desert is no more,’ Atlanta City Council says as Publix opens in Summerhill
After two years of development, a shopping center in Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood is ending the food desert in the area.
According to members of the Atlanta City Council, the opening of a Publix grocery store and pharmacy, plus plans for multiple health clinics to open in the area, will give job opportunities and access to food in multiple Atlanta communities.
Mayor Andre Dickens, city council members, and leaders from Piedmont Health, Publix, and WellStreet Urgent Care were there for the ribbon-cutting event.
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The opening of the Summerhill Publix is just the start of a shopping center opening up on Hank Aaron Drive, near the Center Parc Credit Union Stadium, formerly Turner Field.
Called Summerhill Station, the shopping center will include an eventual Piedmont Urgent Care Center at the site of the original 1905 Piedmont Hospital, according to a hospital representative.
The city council said the opening of the shopping center will provide 150 job opportunities.
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“This grocery store will offer necessary food access to Summerhill, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, and other surrounding South Atlanta communities,” the council said after the opening.
When the move to build a new Publix in the Summerhill area was announced in November 2021, local leaders told Channel 2 Action News that it could transform the community.
Access to food and healthcare in the area is expected to bring necessities close to home for the people of Summerhill.
“We are excited about adding these new locations as they not only provide high-quality care but they also expand our primary and urgent care services in these communities,” Michelle Fisher, Piedmont’s President, Primary Care & Retail Services, said in a statement. “We understand that during these busy times providing convenient care close to home is what our patients need and adding these centers helps us to deliver on our goal to expand access.”
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