Walmart to start building Vine City grocery store in fall

• The store is expected to open in summer 2024 and will replace the former Walmart Supercenter, which closed late last year.
• Little told Axios that the new store would create about 130 jobs.

Why it matters: Reopening a grocery store in Vine City will give residents a chance to buy fresh food and produce closer to home.

Catch up quick: The stores at 835 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and 1801 Howell Mill Road in Berkeley Park both closed last December due to fires. The Howell Mill location was permanently closed following the incident.

• The company permanently closed the Howell Mill location after the fire.

Details: Along with offering a traditional grocery store and pharmacy, Walmart representatives revealed drawings that included space for a possible Atlanta police substation, City Council member Byron Amos told Axios.

What they're saying: Amos said the original Walmart was about 70,000 square feet, but the Neighborhood Market will be around 50,000.

• Amos told Axios that the city's biggest concern was "being able to provide the fresh fruits [and] vegetables that the neighborhood desperately needed" and that the pharmacy would return to the area.
• "It brings a little bit more life to the community by being there and not having an empty building," he said.

What we're watching: What will replace the former Howell Mill Walmart.