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Harps proposes Stonewall grocery; DeSoto Parish jurors review tax abatements
Summary
A Harps grocery store developer outlined a proposal for a 25,000-square-foot store east of Highway 171 in Stonewall and requested state/local Economic Development District incentives — including a five-year capital tax abatement capped at $1,200,000 and a 50% property tax abatement for up to 15 years capped at $750,000 — to make the project financially viable, prompting questions about alcohol sales, location and projected parish revenues.
Justin Bagley, presenting a proposed Harps grocery store for Stonewall, told the DeSoto Parish Police Jury the town currently lacks the rooftops and population to support a grocery without incentives and showed a viability study indicating the store would need help to reach sustainable margins.
Bagley said the proposed store would be roughly 25,000 square feet with about 109 parking spaces and a fuel station. "My name is Justin Bagley, and today we're going to be discussing, the Harps grocery store in Stonewall, Louisiana," he said, and described Harps as an Arkansas‑based, employee‑owned company headquartered in Springdale.
Why it matters: Bagley told jurors the store could create 45–50 local jobs and generate new sales‑tax revenue for local taxing entities. Under the incentive plan Bagley discussed, the parish would consider two state-authorized Economic Development District (EDD) tools: a capital tax abatement covering construction materials and equipment for up to five years (capped at $1,200,000) and a 50% property‑tax abatement for up to 15 years (capped at $750,000). Bagley said the police jury’s projected sales‑tax revenue from the store, as modeled, would be about $107,000 per year.
Residents pressed Bagley for specifics. One resident asked whether the store would be inside Stonewall town limits; Bagley replied it would be within the town limits off Stonewall Frierson Road. Another asked about alcohol sales: "If your intentions are to try to sell alcohol…Why would you not look for a place outside the town limits of Stonewall?" Bagley replied, "My intention is not to sell alcohol…The only thing that I characterized was the alcohol themselves were built into the financial models because we can't discern alcohol out of it," explaining the viability study used analogs from other stores that sell alcohol.
What the jury did: At this meeting jurors discussed agenda item 10 — a resolution authorizing a payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax (PILOT) agreement tied to a term sheet with the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority — but the initial motion to approve that resolution failed for lack of a second. Jurors later moved to reconsider that item so it could be reviewed further.
Next steps: Staff asked jurors to review the proposal materials and incentive options; jurors did not take final action on the Harps incentives at the meeting. The discussion established the key financial parameters jurors said they would weigh if the parish pursues an incentive package.
