Unlike many of his Southside neighbors, Hollis Mathis has a car to get from place to place -- including the grocery store.
"They would have to walk a couple miles basically to Wegman's or Price Chopper," Mathis said.
With only convenience stores in walking distance, the South Side is often referred to as a food desert. That's why Price Rite moving into a vacant building on South Avenue comes as a huge relief.
"A lot of folks do rely on corner stores to live, and they're eating unhealthy," said Jubilee Homes Executive Director Walter Dixie. "You stretch your dollars better so, from that perspective, it makes sense."
Jubilee Homes is working to revitalize the South Side. The group led efforts to bring in Price Rite. It bought the building in 2009 with money from the county.
The store will initially bring in about 75 jobs. Community leaders hope it will be the first piece of an economic development puzzle.
"We have some things in the hopper we're looking at," Dixie said, "the same way you saw downtown, Genesee overnight, just the changing. So I think we can get that by having Price Rite step it up. Anyone as an investor will say, 'we need to look at this area.' ”
State grants and tax breaks from the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency will also support the project. Price Rite will not pay property or mortgage taxes for 10 years -- saving it a few hundred thousand dollars.
“I know there are a lot of people who are anti-tax projects, but these are the kind of projects that people should be happy to see," said Dixie. "Because you see a real return on your taxpayer dollars and provide a great service of food for an area that’s underserved.”
In addition to the existing building, a 10,000-square foot expansion will be added. Construction will begin next month.