WISCONSIN SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART UPGRADING OLD STORE AS OPPOSED TO BUILDING NEW ONE

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Renovated Wal-Mart in store for Bellevue [Green Bay Press Gazette (Wisc.)]

BELLEVUE — Renovation of the Wal-Mart at 2292 Main St. will replace former plans to build a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bellevue’s business park at Brown County GV and Wisconsin 172.

Wal-Mart contacted Bellevue — and the city of Green Bay — with its plans to turn the Main Street location into a Supercenter, which would include significant renovations to both the interior and exterior of the building. The store would remain open during construction before being completed in early 2010.

Because the expansion calls for a 40,000-square-foot addition and changes to the parking at the current location, 95 percent of the Supercenter will be located in the village but the remaining 5 percent is considered Green Bay.

Approvals will be needed from both municipalities.

“The village is excited to welcome the new Supercenter to the community,” said Craig Beyl, village president. “Enhancing the appearance of the current store will be the catalyst for new development in this area. It has been a pleasure to work with the city to bring this exciting project to fruition.”

Wal-Mart announced plans in May to hold off on constructing a new facility at Bellevue’s business park due to economic concerns.

“Basically, it’s just due to market conditions and the overall economy,” said Aaron Oppenheimer, village administrator. “It’s obviously a lot less cost to renovate an existing store than to build a new store.”

The shift in plans helps the village address other concerns that may have come with building a new store as well, he said, including dealing with an abandoned building or trying to find a new tenant.

The plans have not gone through any approvals yet, but Oppenheimer said they’d like to have everything approved by January to start construction in the spring.

Because the project crosses borders, a Planned Development District will mostly be crafted so both communities can have their own zoning regulations apply, Oppenheimer said.

Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, September 23, 2008