Arizona Site Fight: Victory in Cave Creek

Wal-Mart kills plan for Cave Creek store [The Arizona Republic]

Wal-Mart halted plans to build a Supercenter in Cave Creek by 2010, the company announced Tuesday, as it works to slow growth amid forecasts of shrinking consumer spending.

The big-box retailer asked to withdraw a General Plan amendment application with Cave Creek, canceling a Thursday neighborhood meeting that would have disclosed project details to residents, officials said.

If approved, the store would have comprised nearly 20 acres southeast of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway.

The store is one of many projects placed on hold following recent re-evaluations of the chain’s national growth strategy, said Wal-Mart zoning attorney Sean Lake.

The sudden retreat is “related to the economy cycle,” said Cave Creek Town Manager Usama Abujbarah.

The store is one of many projects placed on hold following recent re-evaluations of the chain’s national growth strategy, said Wal-Mart zoning attorney Sean Lake.

The company in June said it planned to reduce the number of nationwide Supercenters slated to open this year by nearly 30 percent.

“Wal-Mart believes it is in the best interest to step back and re-evaluate the market and the ideal location to serve the residents of Cave Creek, Carefree, north Phoenix and north Scottsdale,” Lake wrote in a letter to Abujbarah.Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said the company’s Real Estate Committee made the decision to hold at a Monday meeting.

“This was one of the projects discussed in Arizona ... whether it makes sense to move forward now,” Garcia said. “It is related to our strategy of slowing down our growth and serving our customers better (at our current stores).”

Garcia said the growth halt should not affect stores lined up to open in Paradise Valley, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria and other Valley locales by first quarter next year.

While the world’s largest retailer on Tuesday declared a near 50 percent increase in second-quarter net income of a net income of $3.10 billion, it cut its profit outlook, citing a dwindling real estate market and expected higher food and gas prices, reports said."Our underlying operating performance . . . is not what we expect of ourselves,” said Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott in a recent conference call.

Economic issues are a top concern right now, Scott said.

“Many customers around the world continue to be under economic pressure and they expect Wal-Mart to be their advocate,” Scott said.

While the current plan is to scale back, Garcia said the northeast Valley remains “an important market for us.”

Wal-Mart plans to revisit the project in coming years, though Garcia was unable to offer a timeline.

“We are very interested in Cave Creek, but that is just one of several options in the area,” Garcia said. “It’s still a community that we’re looking at serving better.”

Until then, the town will likely keep its doors - and minds - open for the retailer, Abujbarah said.

“We will consider it into the future,” he said.

It could generate hefty sales tax revenues for Cave Creek, Abujbarah said, though problems with traffic and competition for small area businesses could loom, officials said.

Even then, Abujbarah said he “didn’t feel like any Cave Creek residents expressed negativity” before the hold was announced.

“We wanted to go through the application process with an open mind,” he said.