GADSDEN, Ala. — The Gadsden City Council on Tuesday approved a package of economic development agreements the council and mayor said will bring a Rural King retail store and two restaurant franchises to the city, financed in part by sharing a small portion of city sales-tax receipts.

City leaders said the largest of the three deals will fund an Alabama Rural King shopping center on North Third Street through a revenue warrant secured by the city’s sales-tax receipts. The city agreed to share 2.25 percentage points of its 5% local sales tax for up to 15 years, not to exceed $7,753,144, the ordinance adopted by the council says.

The council also adopted two resolutions to grant sales-tax rebates of 2% of the city’s 5% sales tax to developers of two restaurant sites — a 7 Brew slated for 202 East Meighan Boulevard and a Zaxby’s at 900 Gilbert Ferry Road Southeast. Each rebate would last up to five years from the business opening, or until $200,000 has been paid to the developer, whichever comes first.

Why it matters: The council and mayor described the measures as incentives to attract large employers and retail investment to underused commercial corridors. Mayor Craig Ford said the Rural King site alone is expected to produce full-time jobs and major redevelopment of an aging shopping center.

Council action and debate: Council members substituted a revised ordinance for the Rural King project and, by unanimous consent, considered it at first reading the same day. The council then voted to adopt the ordinance. The two restaurant rebate resolutions were presented and adopted without recorded opposition. The meeting transcript shows no roll-call “no” votes; the council recorded the motions as carrying.

Local officials emphasized job creation and sales-tax revenue as rationale for the incentives. “I think the Rural King is 90 full-time jobs,” Mayor Craig Ford said during the discussion. He also described the Rural King project and associated work as “like a $12,000,000 economic development” for the site, comments the mayor made as he outlined the anticipated local impact.

City staff and council members said the Rural King lease and warrant structure will be secured by the sales-tax stream and capped at the stated maximum. The restaurant rebate agreements use a simpler percentage-rebate model with a $200,000 cap for each location. The council did not change the rebate percentages at the meeting.

What’s next: The Rural King ordinance was adopted on first consideration after the council accepted the substituted document; the motion carried. The two restaurant agreements were adopted as resolutions. City officials said construction and site work will follow the agreements and that the projects will generate additional sales tax income as the businesses open.

The council’s action drew praise from members who credited city development staff for negotiating the deals and said the projects are the result of sustained recruitment efforts. Council members and the mayor linked the deals to broader efforts to redevelop the Midtown Gregersen Shopping Center and to increase retail options at a nearby interstate exit.