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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – A business development that was approved by the Helena Council last year is set to bring several new businesses to the city including Chick-fil-A, Freddy’s, Dunkin’ and more.

The retail development is located at the intersection of Alabama 261 and Shelby County 52, the former location of Helena Tire and Wheel. The project was proposed by Retail Specialists, LLC after acquiring the approximately 7 acre site.

The company recently posted a new sign on the property showing the full array of businesses coming to the space. It was already announced that Chick-fil-A would be part of the new development, but now it’s known that Freddy’s, Dunkin’, Papa Murphy’s, Heartland Dental and AT&T will be moving into the area as well.

“The additional businesses will be a welcome boost for retail tax revenues. In the grand scheme of things we have a relatively small retail footprint here in Helena,” said Mayor Mark Hall. “The additional tax revenues we expect to see from these businesses will help pay for and improve city services.”

The project will see the city spend approximately $550,000 on improvements to traffic modifications, including improvements to turning lanes, to ensure that Alabama 261 continues to flow smoothly and that the retail space is easily accessible from the main road.

The plan is for these costs to be offset by the amount of revenue that the new businesses bring into the city.

According to Hall, “additional revenue is always a welcome addition to help offset the rising costs of providing public services such as police, fire, paving, infrastructure repairs, park and recreation and helps raise additional funding for our local schools.”

The retail space is expected to be completed in 1-2 years following the completion of traffic improvements.