Chicago, IL. Big Box Issue Returns
Could aldermen face another big-box fight? [Chicago Sun-Times]
The political hot potato that gave birth to the vetoed big-box minimum-wage ordinance is back in the City Council’s lap: Mayor Daley wants aldermen to vote again before approving Chicago’s second Wal-Mart and first supercenter that sells groceries, an alderman said Wednesday.
Technically, all that’s needed for Wal-Mart to break ground at 83rd and Stewart is an administrative sign-off by Planning and Development Commissioner Arnold Randall.
Politically, it’s another story. Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) said the Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs informed him Daley is determined not to take the heat alone.
“I’ve been told by people in IGA that they want to do some type of vote. My retort was, what type of vote?” Brookins said.
“It’s passing the buck. The authority and all of the zoning approvals are there. All the commissioner has to do is OK it. Nothing else needs to happen. The consensus among aldermen is that they don’t want to vote. . . . Nobody wants to go through that again.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
Waukesha, WI. Mayor Says Wal-Mart’s Not Dead, Just In Flux
Waukesha, Wisconsin has always been a town that takes good care of its big box stores. On April 13, 2000, Sprawl-Busters reported that federal and state taxpayers were going to help shoppers in Waukesha travel to and from Wal-Mart. This generous offer of corporate welfare to Wal-Mart was expected to amount to as much as $211,191.
According to the Waukesha Metro Transit Director, stores like Wal-Mart had been asking for what amounts to a taxpayer’s subsidy to help them get shoppers and workers to their distant locations. “Fast food restaurants, Wal-Mart--they’ve all at one time or another called and said ‘Please provide more bus service.” said the Transit official. (The WMT transit company happens to be the Wall St. trading symbol for Wal-Mart, but the connection is purely coincidental). The tax-supported bus route goes by the Wal-Mart, which is located outside of the commercial center along Route 164. But now that bus route will have to be changed---or else go by a dead store.
For months, Waukesha officials have been planning for a new Wal-Mart supercenter near Highway 59. But rumors have been circulating in the press that the supercenter project may be dead—another victim of Wal-Mart’s cutback in superstore growth plans.
About six months ago, Wal-Mart announced that it was proposing a new supercenter to open in the summer of 2009, and their existing discount store near Highway 164 would close. Wal-Mart would not confirm the rumor that their supercenter project was now glue, but would only say that the retailer was still negotiating with Heartland Development Group of Milwaukee. Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson tried to prepare his constituents for the worst. “I wouldn’t say the project is dead,” the Mayor told Greater Milwaukee Today. “I would say it’s in flux.” The Mayor said he hopes to know more within a couple of weeks. “I’m still hopeful it can be worked out.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Al Norman on Wednesday, February 20 | 0 comments | Permalink
Bellevue, WI. Can’t Vote No Just Because Wal-Mart Sucks
This is the story of a village in Wisconsin where people may think Wal-Mart sucks, but they’re likely to get a 176,305 s.f. supercenter anyway. In January 2008, this village of roughly 14,600 people just south of Green Bay had a Wal-Mart supercenter thrown into its lap. The village, whose motto is “A Great Place To Grow,” had to decide if growth meant putting a Wal-Mart supercenter in its new business park.
Many village residents pointed out that there are 3 Wal-Mart’s within 10 miles of Bellevue. There is a discount store and a superstore in Green Bay, and a second supercenter in De Pere. Apparently, no independent traffic studies, no impact on property valuations, and no economic impact studies were done on this project. At the January hearing, residents jammed into the Village board room to express their concern and dismay over the proposed store. Every single resident who testified on the plan, opposed it. No one testified in support. Neighbors expressed concerns over lost property values, low wage jobs, and impact on the rest of the business community. Some residents told Wal-Mart that instead of building a new superstore, they should go back and renovate their existing discount store on Main Street in Green Bay, which is roughly 3.5 miles from Bellevue. The Green Bay discount store is a sure bet for closure if the superstore is opened.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Al Norman on Friday, February 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
Bellevue, WI. Wal-Mart Gets Go-Ahead Despite Residents’ Complaints
Bellevue Village Board gives go-ahead to Wal-Mart [Green Bay Press-Gazette (Wisc.)]
Residents’ complaints and concerns continued to pour in on the proposed Wal-Mart SuperCenter looking to move into the village, but it wasn’t enough.
At a packed, standing-room-only Village Board meeting Wednesday, trustees voted unanimously to accept Wal-Mart’s planned development district request to construct a SuperCenter for the business park at Wisconsin 172 and Brown County GV.
President Craig Beyl, who works for a grocery store he cited as a competitor to Wal-Mart, abstained from the vote.
Residents asked the board to block the store from locating in the village, and others — including a few Wal-Mart employees — asked them to approve what they said was a great opportunity.
“If we don’t want something, we the people hope that you can figure out a way to not let that happen,” said resident John Tomcheck.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Sault Ste Marie, MI. Wal-Mart Moving Forward
Perceived progress in Super Wal-Mart project [The Evening News (Mich.)]
While the much-anticipated Super Wal-Mart project has inched along at something slightly slower than a snail’s pace for many months, it appears as though the jungle of bureaucratic red-tape has finally been navigated.
“It had been quiet for quite a while,” said Building Inspector Darien Neveu, noting there has been a noticeable uptick in activity in recent weeks. “We are starting to get calls from consultants.”
Neveu said multiple plans, with minor variations, had already been approved by the city, but work had not yet commenced on the project.
“I kind of sense they’ve rekindled moving forward on the Wal-Mart store,” said Neveu, speculating something may take place on the site - sandwiched between the I-75 Business Spur and Three Mile Road - during the upcoming building season.
At least one of the proposals called for a structure approaching 200,000 square feet, said Neveu, who expressed the belief that the overall size may be scaled back in the final version.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Collinsville, IL. Another Dead Wal-Mart Gets “Upcycled”
On January 12, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a 94,860 s.f.”dark” Wal-Mart discount store on West Market Street in Tiffin, Ohio had been purchased by a commercial developer called U.S. Properties Group (USPG). The real estate company expected to take possession of the empty Wal-Mart by March. The reported closing price to USPG for the building was $1.7 million. There were 14 dead Wal-Mart stores up for lease or sale in Ohio at the time of the sale. Wal-Mart currently has 1,098,672 s.f. of “dark stores” in Ohio. That’s the equivalent of nearly 22.5 football fields of abandoned space. This week, USPG was at in again, buying up another dead Wal-Mart, this time a 99,364 s.f.store in Collinsville, Illinois. Wal-Mart has 15 dead stores for sale in Illinois today—not counting Collinsville. The Wal-Mart discount store in Collinsville was shut down last year when the company put up a supercenter. The new 204,000 s.f. Wal-Mart Supercenter opened at the 53-acre Collinsville Crossing retail development. USPG says it is not recycling these empty stores, but “upcyling” them instead. USPG owns, manages and develops shopping centers in ten states, and has brought numerous big-box retailers to dead stores.
This is the company’s first venture in Illinois. “They have a good reputation of bringing in tenants,” the Collinsville Community Development Director told the News Democrat. “The typical life span for a Wal-Mart to be on the market is a year-and-a-half, so we’re way ahead of schedule.” A spokesman for USPG referred to the Wal-Mart store as a “ghost box.”
To USPG, “upcycling” means the company leverages its relationships with retailers to revitalize communities by renovating dead stores. “We get real estate off the books,” the company’s vice president of leasing told the newspaper. “We get it back to productivity as fast as we can because we don’t make any money until we do it. It’s a pretty simple business model.” One option USPG has is to break the building down into smaller units. People in this part of Illinois are familiar with ‘ghost boxes.’
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, February 12 | 0 comments | Permalink
Chicago-Area Wal-Mart Faces Massive Delays
New Wal-Mart delayed almost a year [Chicago Sun-Times]
An extension of a special use permit for a drive-through pharmacy was approved by the Matteson Village Board Monday, a sign that the new Super Wal-Mart store will not be opening as soon as previously thought.
The prior special use permit, approved March 5, 2007, was to expire in one year.
When the announcement was made in early 2007, officials said the national retailer would relocate and be open for business in 2008
Now, the store may not open until the summer of 2009.
Wal-Mart will be located on the southeast corner of Old Plank Trail and Cicero Avenue, across the street from the existing Wal-Mart.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, February 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Fergus Falls, MN. Wal-Mart Still Plans to Build
Wal-Mart plans still on track [Daily Journal (Minn.)]
Low sales reported out of corporate Wal-Mart and competition from a neighboring supercenter won’t affect expansion plans for the Fergus Falls location. Those plans, however, are still static at the moment.
Earlier in the week, CNNMoney.com reported U.S. retailers experienced their slowest monthly sales growth in five years. Topping the list was Wal-Mart Stores Inc. That’s news to Tim Bosworth, Fergus Falls Wal-Mart manager. However, the local store did take a bit of a hit when a Wal-Mart Supercenter opened up 25 miles down the road in Wahpeton last August.
“It was a good year in light of the fact that the last five months of 2007, the Wahpeton store took 10 percent of our sales,” Bosworth said.
Sales were up 7 percent in July in the Fergus Falls locale — then the Wahpeton store opened. Things are getting back to normal, however.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, February 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
View Wal-Mart Watch's videos on YouTube