TAMPA, Fla. — A long-awaited grocery store in Sulphur Springs may be closer to reality, but county leaders say there’s still work to be done.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Joshua Wostal confirmed for the first time that Aldi is being considered as a potential grocer for the neighborhood.

While no agreement has been finalized, the announcement marks a significant step forward for a community that has gone more than 15 years without a full-service grocery store.

What You Need To Know

Aldi has been named for the first time as a potential grocer in Sulphur Springs

Funding for infrastructure has been secured, but no deal is finalized

The project could be impacted by competing demands for Community Investment Tax dollars

The Springs Market continues to provide fresh food access while the community waits

A community still waiting

Sulphur Springs has long been considered a food desert, where access to affordable, nutritious food is limited. For many residents, corner stores and mini-marts are the closest options. But they often come at a higher price and with fewer healthy choices.

Charlie Adams, director of The Springs Market and a longtime community advocate, says that lack of access has real consequences.

“You have to make up for the shelf space,” said Adams. “So you have to overprice, overprice your goods and services. And then the quality of food coming to a small grocery or the mom and pop stores, you know, the variety. If you don’t have many choices, you gotta take what you have.”

The Springs Market is a monthly farmers market that provides fresh food and supports local businesses. Adams says the initiative has served as a temporary solution while the community waits for something permanent.

“Healthy eating is essential to human survival. Right? And being that we are a food desert where we don’t have a grocery within a half-mile radius within the Sulfur Springs community, you know, it can negatively negatively impact our community,” he said.

Progress — but not a guarantee

In January, Wostal announced that millions of dollars had been secured to support infrastructure for a grocery store in the area. The funding is part of a broader effort tied to the Community Investment Tax and a multi-year neighborhood revitalization plan led by the City of Tampa.

Wostal says a bipartisan group is now working to identify the right private partner and move the project forward.

“A local group, a bipartisan local group, has volunteered their family CEOs to help on an advisory committee and identifying public partners,” said Wostal. “We just actually last week sent off the proposal letter just to try and get them to take the initial meetings with me. But on the 2024  CIT renewal, there is a specific line item that I required for my yes vote to go to the voters, which is infrastructure funding for a private grocer in Sulfur Springs.”

Still, officials emphasize there is no signed deal, and no guaranteed timeline.

Funding uncertainty ahead

There are also concerns about whether funding will remain available.

Wostal says the same pot of Community Investment Tax dollars could be affected by other major projects, including a potential stadium deal involving the Tampa Bay Rays. If those funds are redirected, it could limit what’s available for the grocery project.

Hope on the ground

For now, The Springs Market continues to serve as a lifeline in the community, offering fresh food and a sense of progress.

“It’s been a, you know, a talking point for quite some time. So it’s about taking action,” said Adams. 

Organizers say efforts are expanding, with plans to add a community garden alongside the farmers market.

While a permanent grocery store is not yet guaranteed, residents say this is the closest the neighborhood has come in years to making it a reality.