SUPERCENTER CONSTRUCTION PUT ON HOLD IN HILLTOWN, PA

Wal-Mart’s conversion put on hold [The Intelligencer (Pa.)]

If you’ve been holding your breath waiting for the Wal-Mart at the Hilltown Crossings to be converted into a supercenter, you might want to start breathing again.

Construction at the Route 309 shopping center won’t begin for another eight to 12 months, said Keith Morris, regional spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based discount stores.

Last July, Hilltown officials gave preliminary approval to the expansion, pending some traffic and internal corrections.

Around the same time, however, Wal-Mart announced it was re-evaluating its expansion strategy, scaling back by more than 25 percent the number of superstores it would be opening this year, according to Associated Press reports.

About 80 of the more than 200 supercenters that had been scheduled to open in 2008 have been pushed until next year. The move dropped Wal-Mart’s capital expenditures by $1.5 billion.

The Hilltown Wal-Mart was one of the stores affected by the decision, Morris said.

“We took a step back and set new timelines,” he explained.

Supercenters combine a full grocery store with Wal-Mart’s traditional discount store offerings. There are more than 2,500 supercenters nationwide, and most are open 24 hours, according to the company’s Web site.

The plan for the Hilltown supercenter expands it by about 87,000 square feet, bringing it up to about 210,000 square feet.

With the addition of groceries, the store should take the place of the Hilltown Crossing Clemens that closed two years ago after the family-owned company went out of business.

Posted by Tony Calero on Monday, August 11, 2008

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