St.Charles,IL. Plan Commission Closes Book On Proposed Wal-Mart

The city of St. Charles, Illinois (pop. 31,834) is “just one hour west of Chicago.” The city has a Downtown St. Charles Partnership, a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of Downtown St. Charles. The city’s planning goal is to “preserve our unique character as a dynamic, prosperous city, maintaining the small town charm, the natural beauty of the Fox Valley…that make St. Charles distinct. Our historic downtown is the heart of the community, and keeping it healthy and vibrant is essential.” The city also has estimated consumer spending of $1.35 billion a year. It is that figure which attracted Wal-Mart to St.Charles---not its “unique character.”

Sprawl-Busters reported on February 6, 2007, that Wal-Mart had proposed a 226,000 s.f. superstore that had area residents upset. The project, they said, would generate too many cars, hurt residential property values, and ruin their quality of life. They noted that the new supercenter would result in an empty Wal-Mart discount store located nearby at Route 64. But in February, the St. Charles alderman paved over Wal-Mart’s plans by voting to negotiate to buy roughly 3 acres of land that would block the supercenter from being built. The city said they needed the land to connect two roads—and the road they want to build falls right where Wal-Mart proposes to locate. The city said the move was not an effort to stop Wal-Mart, but part of the city’s comprehensive plan to connect Smith Road with Foxfield Drive. Improving traffic circulation had been identified as a high-priority goal by the city. The new road would divide the Wal-Mart parcel in half. If the deal went through, Wal-Mart would not be able to relocate to the supercenter. Last night, the Daily Herald newspaper reports, about 20 St. Charles residents cheered when officials voted to scrap plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the city’s east side.

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Posted by Al Norman on Wednesday, August 22 | 0 comments | Permalink

St. Louis: Gateway to Wal-Mart’s Grocery Expansion

Wal-Mart stirs up hot market for groceries [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is poised to strike at the core of the local grocery store business, with plans that include more Supercenters in St. Louis County.

The Bentonville, Ark., retailing behemoth next year will transform four local Wal-Mart stores into Supercenters with full-service groceries. And it has plans to convert from four to six more in 2009.

“Wal-Mart looks forward to food growth over the next five years,” Cindy Galati, a Wal-Mart district market manager, said Monday. She was referring to the Supercenters, which carry everything from organic foods to fresh deli items.

“There is a good possibility that all existing St. Louis-area Wal-Marts could be considered for expansion as well as possibly new sites,” Galati said.
The expansions scheduled for next year are at Wal-Mart stores in Chesterfield, Gravois Bluffs shopping center in Fenton, Telegraph Road in south St. Louis County and O’Fallon, Mo., she said. The first three are in St. Louis County, which has only one Supercenter now in Eureka.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, August 21 | 0 comments | Permalink

Illinois Site Fight: Wal-Mart’s Time is Up

Wal-Mart proposal is likely no more [Kane County (Ill.) Daily Herald]

St. Charles officials are poised to close the books on a controversial plan to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter adjacent to Charlestowne Mall.

According to the city, Wal-Mart no longer has an option to buy 30 acres just northwest of the Smith Road-Route 64 intersection, meaning its pending application to build a store there is invalid.

The plan commission is expected to dismiss the proposal at a continued public hearing Tuesday, possibly ending more than a year of wrangling between neighbors and the retail giant.

“This is the step our attorney has told us to take, which is basically get rid of it so we clear up time for other developments in the city,” plan commission Chairman Todd Wallace said Thursday.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, August 17 | 0 comments | Permalink

Michigan Site Fight: Wal-Mart Wants a Refund

Wal-Mart to Manistee: We Want a Refund [Ludington (Mich.) Daily News]

Retailer opts out of land purchase, asks for deposit back

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, canceled its purchase agreement with the City of Manistee to build a store on a former dump site the city owned in Filer Township.

The City of Manistee was informed Tuesday that Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust elected to cancel the purchase agreement with the city for the property adjacent to Red Apple Road near U.S 31, according to a press release from the city. A letter from Wal-Mart’s lawyers faxed to the Daily News from the city states the company is also asking for its approximately $72,000 deposit be returned, per the terms of the agreement.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, August 17 | 0 comments | Permalink

Michigan Site Fight: New Stores?

Wal-Mart considers store expansions, new locations [Detroit Free Press]

A week after a controversial Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Livonia, the Arkansas-based retailer is looking Downriver at sites for a new store and the expansion of two others.

The company has been looking at properties in Lincoln Park and Southgate for a new Supercenter, Wal-Mart’s Michigan spokesman Nick Infante said Tuesday.

After a decision is made, the process to open a store can take 16-20 months, he said.

Wal-Mart also plans to convert its Taylor and Woodhaven stores into Supercenters. Wal-Mart Supercenters sell groceries in addition to general merchandise.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, August 17 | 0 comments | Permalink

Illinois Site Fight: Upset Residents to Keep Fighting

Glen Carbon group to fight Wal-Mart plans [Ill. Telegraph]

Upset residents are moving forward with a lawsuit against the village opposing the Wal-Mart Supercenter expansion.

The group of residents from Glen Carbon and Edwardsville, calling themselves the Glen-Ed Citizens for Fair Growth, spoke out at a June 12 Village Board meeting against the Wal-Mart at Cottonwood Plaza turning into a Supercenter. However, the Board of Trustees voted 5-1 to approve the expansion. Trustee Margaret Moggio cast the only dissenting vote.

Members of the Glen-Ed Citizens gathered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition and hired a lawyer to help them fight the Wal-Mart expansion. The group presented the petition to the Village Board, but trustees were not swayed.

The Glen-Ed Citizens hired Penni Livingston, an environmental lawyer with a firm in Fairview Heights, to take on their case. After the Village Board meeting in June, members regrouped to decide on whether to pursue a lawsuit.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 16 | 0 comments | Permalink

MINNESOTA SITE FIGHT: CITIZENS VOICE CONCERNS

Not all in St. Peter like the Wal-Mart plan [Mankato (Minn.) Free Press]

Tim Krohn’s article in the Aug. 3 edition of The Free Press gives the impression the establishment of a Wal-Mart in St. Peter would be positive for the community, is supported by community businesses, and under the care of Russ Wille — the city’s community development director — will not have a negative impact on Lake Hallett, a small lake adjacent to the proposed site.

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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, August 10 | 0 comments | Permalink

Clinton, MI. Wal-Mart Plan Tabled Over A New Road

Clinton Township, Michigan, is the largest township in the state with nearly 100,000 people. The township offices are located on land adjacent to the Old Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal. The township boasts that in Clinton there ”are gardens, a fishing pond, a sledding hill and gazebo that make a beautiful setting for summer concerts and weddings. All of these make Clinton Township a nice place to live.” Wal-Mart also thought Clinton would be a nice place---to build a 176,311 s.f. superstore at the corner of Hall Road and Romeo Plank. The land where Wal-Mart would build is next to the Mall at Partridge Creek, which is expected to open in October. But the Trustees in Clinton Township voted earlier this week to table the site plan approval for the proposed Wal-Mart. Citing traffic, layout and landscaping concerns, the trustees voted unanimously (7-0) to table the issue for one month to have those issues addressed. “I think this is a serious safety issue,” said township Treasurer William Sowerby, who offered the motion to require Wal-Mart to build and pay for a boulevard exit on Romeo Plank. Trustees want Wal-Mart to build a boulevard from the store property, leading out to Romeo Plank so drivers can make a Michigan turnaround to head north. “We feel as a board, unanimously that turning north onto Romeo Plank would be extremely dangerous” without it, Supervisor Bob Cannon told the Detroit Free Press. The suggested boulevard construction comes at a time when Romeo Plank is slated for expansion from two to five lanes starting this fall with completion expected in spring.