1 of 3
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Developer Murray Legg talks about the plans for the new Piggly Wiggly at the Homewood City Council meeting on Aug. 25, 2025.
2 of 3
3 of 3
Homewood is one step closer to having a new Piggly Wiggly grocery store, one that would sit in the very spot where patrons have always known The Pig to be.
Following a public hearing, the council approved an incentive package of $3 million, down from the $3½ million package that was approved nearly two years ago when the original project to build behind the current building was approved.
As he did two years ago, developer Murray Legg spoke to the council, representing McConnell White & Terry Realty and Insurance Co.
“After a lot of discussion and a lot of back and forth, we have decided the best route to go, not only for Mr. Terry but I think also for the city and the neighbors,” Legg said, “and that is to enlarge the store where it sits right now.”
As council members flipped through a ring-bound book of pictures, Legg guided them through the proposed new store at the intersection of Montgomery Highway and Oxmoor Road. A color photo showed how the front of the store will look from Shades Cahaba Elementary School across U.S. 31.
“The entrance will be on the on the south side of the building,” Legg said, referencing the CVS drugstore. The presentation included photos from inside the Crestline location of Piggly Wiggly.
“You guys originally agreed to cut $3½ million dollars for a larger construction amount,” Legg said. “Now we're not having as large a store and we're not spending as much, we feel like it's only right to go back and ask you to reduce that amount. We're asking for $3 million in incentives versus $3½ (million).”
Concern was raised about the original plan because of the proposed location of the loading dock. Those concerns appear to have been alleviated as the loading dock of the proposed building will be where it has been.
“We feel like we've really improved the loading situation from what the previous ideas would be,” architect Robert Thompson said. “The (delivery) trucks will be where they are now, which is basically hidden from view.”
Legg referred to a map of the proposed new store, pointing out a change from the current store.
“We've taken out all the parking out front and also on the on the north side of the building,” he said. “We turned that into green space for when kids come out of the tunnel for Shades Cahaba. They can have an area there (where) they can wait for their moms or their dads to come and pick them up. We're trying to think about all the things that could possibly happen and try to make it safer for the children.”
The removed parking slots will be replaced with other spaces on the property. Thus, the current 85 parking spaces will become 137.
Barry Smith expressed her appreciation to the developers and Piggly Wiggly owner Andy Virciglio for working on the project for so long.
“I know it's been up and down process, but I think in the end, we've gotten to a place where this is a really great plan,” she said. “I think everybody is so excited about it. Andy, I know you're excited.”
Said Virciglio: “Thank you guys for being patient.”
“We were happy to be patient,” Smith replied, “because I think the end result was well worth the wait.”
Because the plan has changed, the development team must return to the city’s Planning and Development Commission to again get approval. From there, the developers will come back to the council for the plan’s final approval.
In other business:
- The council received a budget brief for fiscal 2025-26 from City Manager Glen Adams.
“I want to remind everybody, this is going to change weekly until we are done with the budget, because you're getting your final estimation,” Adams said. “Our total budget of all funds is $128,511,652. Our operational budget is $75,593,637. That's based off of a 2% revenue increase and $3.32 million carryover fund from the general fund.
“It's just like we've done in the past,” he continued. “The current CPI (Consumer Price Index) is 3.5% so that's what the budget is based off of. The 5% merit pay increase is also budgeted in here and the tiered bonuses budgeted here pending surplus funds.”
Smith said after the meeting that the process is improved this year because of the city’s change to a council-city manager form of government.
“We have a lot of participation on the front end, which we have not had in the past,” she said. “In the past, just the mayor and the Finance Chair have been involved in the planning of the budget and then they proposed it to the council, none of us having seen any of it before. This gave us the opportunity to get a preview and be able to have those discussions with the department heads.”
Budget hearings with department heads will take place in coming weeks.
