Rendering courtesy of city of Hoover
NRE Riverchase plans to put a HomeSense store in 27,278 square feet of the 39,793 square feet of space in the Riverchase Crossing shopping center formerly occupied by Big Lots. Shoe Dept is slated to go in the remaining 10,515 square feet of space.
The Hoover City Council on Monday approved a tax rebate agreement for the redevelopment of the former Big Lots store at the Riverchase Crossing shopping center.
A development company from Tennessee is proposing to buy the part of the shopping center that contains the former Big Lots space and convert the 37,793-square-foot space into two stores — a 27,278-square-foot HomeSense store and a 10,515-square-foot Shoe Dept store, said Ken Grimes, Hoover’s economic development director.
Big Lots, after being open at that location for 7½ years, closed in February 2025, and the space has been vacant ever since and not generating any tax revenue for the city, Grimes said.
The new development company, NRE Riverchase, plans to invest almost $10.5 million into redeveloping the site, including $8.8 million to buy the land and renovate the building and $1.7 million for “soft costs” such as professional services, taxes, permits and fees, Grimes said.
Map courtesy of city of Hoover
NRE Riverchase plans to put a HomeSense store in 27,278 square feet of the 39,793 square feet of space in the Riverchase Crossing shopping center formerly occupied by Big Lots. Shoe Dept is slated to go in the remaining 10,515 square feet of space.
Such an investment would help Hoover fill one of its oldest shopping centers and bring in some new brands, Grimes said. This would be the first HomeSense store in Alabama and the first Shoe Dept in Hoover, he said.
HomeSense is affiliated with T.J. Maxx, as is the Sierra store that recently opened in the Riverchase Crossing shopping center. It sells discounted home furnishings and eclectic decor, including rugs and lighting options.
In return for helping the city redevelop, the developer is asking for up to $1.9 million in sales tax rebates, getting a rebate of 50% of sales tax proceeds for the two stores going into the Big Lots space over 10 years, Grimes said. The developer expects the $1.9 million cap would be reached by year seven, he said.
The tax rebate would not apply to the existing stores and other spaces on that end of the shopping center, such as the Napa Auto Parts store, Grimes said.
In other business Monday, the Hoover City Council voted to allow the Piggy Wiggly grocery store at 2148 Tyler Road to sell consumable hemp products but denied similar licenses for the Sunmed Your CBD Store at 2341 John Hawkins Parkway and the Gallery Smoke Shop at 3065 Lorna Road, Suite D.
The Hoover Police Department recommended denying the license for the Sunmed Your CBD Store after doing a background check on the applicant. Scott McDonald, the assistant chief for the Police Department, declined to give specific reasons for the recommendation.
EJ Autry, the applicant, said his store has been there for seven years, has always complied with regulations and been an active supporter of the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and local youth sports teams. His business never carried the synthetic cannabinoids that frequently previously were seen in gas stations and has focused on health and wellness, he said.
“We’re all about getting people healthy, not high,” he said.
Several other people voiced support for the owners and operators of the Sunmed Your CBD Store, saying they provided legitimate, legal products that greatly improved their health and quality of life.
The license request for the Gallery Smoke Shop was pulled from the agenda because the applicant did not supply all the required information, City Administrator Brian Muenger said.
City Attorney Charlie Waldrep said the only consumable hemp products that will be sold at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store will be beverages.
The City Council also on Monday:
- Voted 5-1 against deannexing the 7-acre Trinity Presbyterian Church property at 7160 Cahaba Valley Road, which is directly across Alabama 119 from Tattersall Park. See more on that here.
- Approved a Grandview Medical Center freestanding emergency department at 2137 Valleydale Road
- Agreed to buy .22 acres from the Trace Crossings Residential Association to help make way for the new Interstate 459 Exit 9 interchange
- Approved a day habilitation and respite services program in the Village on Lorna shopping center at 3309 Lorna Road, Suite 203
- Declared properties at 2337 Tyler Road and 405 Cahaba River Estates as public nuisances due to high weeds and/or grass
- Agreed for the city to participate in the severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday allowed by the state during the last full weekend in February
