IOWA CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER WAL-MART
Council to consider Wal-Mart hearing [Iowa City Press-Citizen (Iowa)]
The Iowa City Council will consider setting a public hearing for a proposal to build a new Wal-Mart Supercenter.
The Planning and Zoning Board recently approved altering a conditional zoning agreement that would allow Wal-Mart to build the 180,000-square-foot supercenter.
The store will replace Wal-Mart’s current store at 1001 Highway 1 W., as well as an abandoned Cub Foods and existing Staples store.
The conditional zoning agreement requires the site to have multiple buildings. Wal-Mart is requesting to change that agreement to allow a single building.
The council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Friday, July 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
MADISON, WI DEVELOPMENT GROUP IN SECRET NEGOTIATIONS WITH WAL-MART?
Development corporation subject to open meetings [Associated Press via Chicago Tribune]
The state Supreme Court rules a Beaver Dam economic group is subject to Wisconsin’s open meetings and records laws.
The court said Friday an entity is a quasi-governmental body and subject to those laws if it closely resembles a government corporation, but that a determination should be made on a case-by-case basis.
A citizens group has alleged the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation negotiated secretly with Wal-Mart to bring a $55 million distribution center to the city.
The Supreme Court says the corporation is funded exclusively by tax dollars, its office was located in the municipal building, it was listed on the city’s Web site and the city gave the group clerical support and office supplies.
The court declined to punish the group, however. Attorneys for the group didn’t immediately return messages.
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Friday, July 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Spooner,WI. Wal-Mart Asks County For 40 Year No-Compete Clause
Wal-Mart, the supposed icon of the free market, wants a County board in Wisconsin to prevent public land surrounding its proposed store from being sold to Wal-Mart competitors for 40 years. That’s just one of the problems associated with this mercurial proposal from the giant retailer.
On May 15, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported on the off-and-on effort by Wal-Mart to build a 153,000 s.f. superstore in Spooner, Wisconsin on 35 acres of county land. This project has been in the works for three years. Spooner calls itself “the perfect Up North town.” “We are surrounded by woods, lakes, rivers and friendly people,” the city’s website says. “With a population of around 2700, Spooner is perfect for a family vacation, a fishing expedition, a permanent residence or a second home.” But local residents worry that Spooner will be surrounded by more than just “woods, lakes, rivers and friendly people.”
On January 18, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a Wal-Mart supercenter project in Spooner, Wisconsin was on hold. “There is nothing yet to report on the status of the project on Spooner,” a Wal-Mart senior manager of public affairs said in an e-mail to Spooner Mayor Louie Villella. “While no decision has been made regarding the Spooner project, I feel it’s important you know what’s driving these decisions, and that you know these decisions are shaped by Wal-Mart’s desire for a responsible and managed growth strategy. Again, there is nothing yet to report on the status of the project in Spooner, but my colleagues at Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville expect this project to be reviewed in the coming weeks. I will of course keep you informed.”
Wal-Mart admitted that the Spooner Supercenter was in a “holding pattern” while the company tried to “manage our growth to insure the long-term success.” After roughly four months in limbo, Wal-Mart announced in April that under new “business parameters,” the supercenter project would proceed---on a smaller scale than originally proposed. The Washburn County Register reported that residents asked that the city council slow the process down and prepare a developer’s agreement carefully. One resident warned the Council that officials in Rice Lake, Wisconsin regretted that they had not conducted more research when they accepted a Wal-Mart Supercenter---which caused their “smaller” Wal-Mart store to sit empty at a $200,000 liability. Another resident recommended an “advisory referendum” to see how many citizens wanted Wal-Mart in town.
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Posted by Al Norman on Thursday, July 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
WAL-MART EXPANDING IN EASTWOOD, MI?
Wal-Mart Expansion To Eastwood? [WILX-TV (Mich.)]
It’s kind of like taking the good with the bad.
Venture out to Eastwood Towne Center for shopping or a movie-- and you’re bound to hit terrible traffic.
And a possible Wal-Mart expansion could back things up even more.
“Wal-mart’s proposing a revised concept from what they have, geared towards upscale shopping experience,” says Lansing Township’s director of development Steve Hayward.
Hayward says the Wal-Mart expansion would feature a new upscale grocery section, as well as a home furnishings area.
“It’s geared toward a more organic component and more foreign items, international foods as well,” he says.
The township admits they have to do something about the traffic if this growth continues; they also have a hotel and water-park on tap for the same Eastwood property.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 09 | 0 comments | Permalink
WAL-MART STILL ON TAP FOR DENISON, IA
Wal-Mart Supercenter still planned for 2010, 2011 opening [SW Iowa News]
Wal-Mart’s revised forecast that lowered anticipated capital expenditures for fiscal year 2009 to the $13-$14 billion range should not have any bearing on plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Denison.
Ryan Horn, senior manager of public affairs for Wal-Mart, said he didn’t believe the revised forecast would have an effect.
An earlier forecast anticipated capital expenditures in the $13.5-$15.2 billion range. The revised forecast was issued in June.
“We’re looking at this project (Denison Supercenter) to open the latter part of 2010 or 2011,” said Horn. “That may seem like a long way out, but considering the fact that we have hard winters that slow down construction, and it’s already well into the summer of 2008, it’s not that far off.”
Horn added Wal-Mart intends to go forward with the project.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 09 | 0 comments | Permalink
CONTROVERSIAL WAL-MART PROJECT BEGINS IN FENTON, MI
Fenton Wal-Mart project begins Wednesday [Flint Journal (Mich.)]
The supersizing of the city’s Wal-Mart by 52,000 square feet to make room for a grocery and pharmacy is expected to begin Wednesday.
The retailer pulled building permits Thursday, and a pre-construction meeting is set for Tuesday at City Hall, said Bradley Hissong, Fenton’s zoning and building administrator.
Construction starts Wednesday and should be completed in 11 months, said Shawn Pnacek of Three Rivers Company in Midland, the general contractor on the job.
The store will remain open during construction, Hissong said.
Wal-Mart received city approvals to proceed with a “supercenter” in April 2007 but has been negotiating with local officials on minimizing the impact of the construction and an enlarged Wal-Mart on neighbors to the immediate west in Silver Ridge subdivision, off Owen Road.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 08 | 0 comments | Permalink
IOWA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES ZONING REQUEST
Activists keep trying to prevent Wal-Mart Supercenter [The Daily Iowan]
Local anti-Wal-Mart activists are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Iowa City.
A proposal to amend a zoning agreement and allow for the construction of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter on Highway 1, replacing an older Wal-Mart will come before the Iowa City City Council later this summer, having been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 3.
Gary Sanders, who heads Iowa City Stop Wal-Mart, said he is frustrated by the local government’s willingness to hold discussions with Wal-Mart. According to Sanders, Wal-Mart has broken zoning agreements in the past.
Westport Plaza, the location of an existing Wal-Mart store, 1001 Highway 1 W., was rezoned in 1989. The 1989 zoning agreement called for the development not to consist of individual, unrelated buildings; instead, each building should relate to one another.
While Wal-Mart was not a participant in the agreement, the responsibility to uphold the agreement was passed onto Wal-Mart when it purchased the property, according to memorandum to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Monday, July 07 | 0 comments | Permalink
SOUTH ALPINE, IL WAL-MART IN LIMBO
Lawsuit, economic downturn leave South Alpine Wal-Mart up in the air [BusinessRockford.com (Ill.)]
Construction of the city’s fourth Wal-Mart Supercenter on South Alpine Road has been delayed for more than a year because of litigation — and its future remains in doubt.
Rockford aldermen approved Wal-Mart’s venture into the South Alpine area in April 2006, and construction was set to start later that fall. The proposal was first announced in 2005.
But before any earth had been moved, ADY of Illinois Inc. sued Wal-Mart, the city of Rockford and the developer on April 27, 2007, according to court records.
The lawsuit was dismissed late last month, said John Elias, attorney for Peoria-based developer Waldschmidt Development Corp.
“We didn’t think the case had merit when it was filed, and we still don’t think it has any merit,” Elias said.
ADY of Illinois Inc. and the organization’s attorney, Wheaton-based Mark Daniel, could not be reached for comment. The two sides will be back in court July 16 because an appeal of the ruling may be filed.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Monday, July 07 | 0 comments | Permalink
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