Waite Park, MN. Wal-Mart Strives for Saturation

Waite Park may get a Wal-Mart [St. Cloud Times (Minn.)]

A Wal-Mart could be built in Waite Park in two years along Minnesota Highway 23, and the city conducted necessary studies on its behalf this fall, city documents show.

The development could include four commercial buildings and a gas station, including one 50,000-square-foot building along Highway 23, according to a layout produced by a traffic consultant for the city and used to analyze traffic in the area of the development.

Waite Park entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart in August to prepare an environmental assessment worksheet and traffic-impact analysis of the proposed development.

Wal-Mart agreed to reimburse Waite Park for the administrative, engineering and legal expenses, estimated at $25,000.

According to the agreement, Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust has no obligation to reimburse the city for expenses greater than $35,000.

So far the city has spent almost $33,600 on legal services and consultant fees for the project, according to a financial print-out. It so far has received about $19,900 from Wal-Mart.

The city has also spent close to $67,800 on consultant and land-appraisal costs for the 18th Avenue/Fourth Street project, which would provide access to the area. Plans call for assessments to pay for part of the actual improvements.

Those improvements are thought to cost about $12,560, according to a September memo. The city will pay an estimated $3,240 of that cost.

Wal-Mart agreed to buy about 53 acres from Park City LLC, according to a June memo to the city that is on letterhead from Miller Properties & Investments.

The proposed Miller Development, as it’s been called in city documents and at council meetings, is south of Second Street South and west of 10th Avenue, adjacent to Menards.

The city refers to the Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club project in a letter about the agreement and in their accounting system. Sam’s Club is a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Since February, Wal-Mart has opened more than 200 stores and clubs across the U.S., including 163 supercenters, 19 Sam’s Clubs, 16 Neighborhood Markets and seven discount stores.

At Wal-Mart’s request, a traffic analysis was completed in August; it will help determine what road improvements are needed to handle traffic. The environmental assessment was also completed this fall, and the City Council decided at its Nov. 19 meeting that no further study was needed of the land.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opened a St. Cloud Wal-Mart in April 1991.

It opened a Sams Club store in St. Cloud in July 1991.

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, December 04, 2007