Site Fight Of The Week: Cordova, TN

It’s not every day that opposition rises up to stop a Wal-Mart project in the South, but that’s exactly what we’re seeing in Cordova, Tennessee.

For months, local residents have been voicing concern over the proposed Grey’s Creek project, primarily over traffic concerns, but others as well - including the safety of over a thousand children who walk past the intersection to and from school, and the likelihood that local businesses - including other Wal-Mart stores - will shut down.

The Memphis/Cordova area is about as saturated with Wal-Marts as it gets. There are already 14 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of Cordova, including two supercenters only minutes away.

Brian Stephens, a lawyer representing the local citizens group “Citizens for Sustainable Growth” sums it up well:

“Our main points of opposition here are that there’s just a real lack of infrastructure…if we continue to have urban sprawl go farther and farther out (into the county), that means less money for the rest of the city...The plans for the building look great, but it’s going to potentially shut down one of the other Wal-Marts in the vicinity...We’ve already got two Supercenters nearby. And Wal-Mart has a history of when they open up a new Wal-Mart in an existing market, they shut down one of the other Wal-Marts. And we don’t want another empty big box retailer in Cordova or on Stage Road.”

The Shelby County Commission will take a look at the issue on Monday before it goes before the Memphis City Council on Tuesday. Two ‘no’ votes could be the nail in the coffin for the Wal-Mart project, ending the debate once and for all.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Email the Mayor, City Council and County Commission - and tell the to vote ‘no’ on a Wal-Mart in the Grey’s Creek area. 

Posted by Eric Bull on Friday, September 19, 2008

Click Here for a Printer-Friendly Version