NEW MEXICO SITE FIGHT: STORE SITE NIXED

Wal-Mart nixes Osuna store plan [Albuquerque Tribune]

Wal-Mart has nixed its plans to build a supercenter at Osuna Road and Vista del Norte Northeast, following a defeat at the hands of a city planning commission and other efforts to turn the property into a park.

The Environmental Planning Commission ruled last week that the store would cause too many problems with noise, pollution and traffic.

Meanwhile, the City Council voted unanimously in April to buy or, if needed, condemn the lot, and agreed to set aside $6.1 million for the acquisition. Councilors said they wanted to preserve a good landing site for balloons and perhaps create soccer fields.

Wal-Mart didn’t own the land, but had an option to buy the 22-acre parcel. Spokeswoman Delia Garcia said the company would let the option expire, which means the city will have to deal with the owner, Arizona firm Sundt Construction.

Ed Adams, the city’s chief operations officer and the man who would supervise such a buy, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 25, 2007

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