By Jason Schoonover, Austin Daily Herald

AUSTIN — To store manager Todd Hepler, the announcement that Hy-Vee will build a 60,000 to 90,000-square-foot grocery store at Oak Park Mall — the location of Hy-Vee’s original Austin store — came at the perfect time.

“It’s Homecoming Week here in Austin, and we’re actually coming back home,” Hepler said.

On Monday, city officials announced that the Austin Port Authority had reached a general agreement to acquire the Oak Park Mall property for $3.3 million. Around noon Tuesday, Hy-Vee announced plans to build a new store at the mall, the grocery store’s original home from 1975 to 1985.

To Hepler, it’s great news for the community.

“We’ve been a part of this community for almost 40 years, and it’s been hard to witness how Oak Park Mall has struggled,” Hepler said in a press release. “I wanted to see if there was something we could do to move the needle like never before. Luckily, Hy-Vee provides me the autonomy to impact change. I took this idea to our leadership, and now a new store will be built at the mall.”

Hy-Vee signed a letter of intent with the Austin Port Authority, and over the next 30 days the two entities will work to execute a formal developer’s agreement and purchase agreement.

“We couldn’t be happier with the agreement,” Austin Port Authority President Jerry McCarthy said in the release. “This is the type of major investment from a respected retailer that Oak Park Mall needed. We’ve worked hard over the years to spur new life in the mall. We never gave up hope that one day an opportunity would present itself, enabling the mall to live up to its full potential.”

A Hormel Foundation grant to the city will cover the city’s acquisition cost. Hormel Foundation Chairman Gary Ray called it a fantastic opportunity for future development in Austin.

“We thought that this would be a great move for the city to take care of the area out there,” he said.

Hy-Vee has not yet announced if it plans to purchase the mall from the Port Authority, nor has it released the projected cost of the its new store.

“We’re just in the very very beginning planning stages,” Hepler said.

Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm commended the Port Authority and Hy-Vee for working together to come up with a solution.

Hepler told his Hy-Vee staff the news just before noon on Tuesday, and he said they were pleased, adding they saw it as a sign the West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is dedicated to the Austin community.

“They are ecstatic knowing that they are going to get a brand-new facility,” Hepler said.