By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington’s southeast side is getting a grocery store after the city council unanimously approved the site plan for an Aldi’s.
The grocery chain plans to build a 20,000 square foot store on vacant property at the northeast corner of Ireland Grove Road and South Mercer Avenue.
City staffers in a report to the council said the city stands to benefit from increased property and sales tax revenues, but the addition does not fill a food desert on Bloomington’s west side.
Advocates with the West Market Street Council have been working for years to bring a grocer to the west side. The group in September of 2019 announced it purchased a shopping plaza at Market and Howard Streets to build a non-profit grocery store there.
Meantime, Bloomington taxpayers found out Monday night how much it will cost to buy rock salt to remove ice and snow from city streets this winter.
The council unanimously voted to approve a contract paying Morton Salt $61.97 per ton, or up to $371,820. Last year’s price per ton was the highest in recent years, at $101.67, city staffers said.
Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at News@WJBC.com.
