Merrill, WI. Wal-Mart Plans Stall
Wal-Mart project on shelf again [Wausau Daily Herald]
A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter project has stalled again.
Property owner Stuart Smith of Merrill recently withdrew his request that the city of Merrill annex his town of Pine River property for development of the store.
The property near the southeast corner of the highways 51 and 64 interchange was the third site Wal-Mart considered for development in the past year.
Smith said he hasn’t heard from Wal-Mart attorneys since the city, Lincoln County and the state Department of Transportation sent a Wal-Mart lawyer the requirements and related costs for developing the site in May.
Since then, the time period has passed for the city to vote on whether to annex the land. Smith said he doesn’t want the property to be annexed if Wal-Mart isn’t going to buy it.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Greece, NY. Wal-Mart Dispute Causes Rift
Proposed Wal-Mart sparks back-and-forth debate [Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)]
Al Fisher remembers the controversy when a Tops Friendly Markets store was proposed for Mt. Read Boulevard in the mid-1980s. There were Planning Board meetings that lasted hours and contentious resident debate before the board approved the chain.
“That was probably one of the most passionate I’ve seen two sides when it came to development in the town,” said Fisher, of Greece, Planning Board chairman.
But there is a new number one on his list. The Planning Board on Wednesday approved Wal-Mart’s application to build a 146,000-square-foot superstore in Northgate Plaza. The approval came after public hearings that Fisher describes as some of the most zealous and fervent discussions by residents ever on a project.
Many residents complained that the store would bring traffic, crime and noise problems. Others said Wal-Mart would strengthen the beleaguered plaza.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Galt, CA. Proposal Tests “Big Box” Ordinance
Wal-Mart eyes new store site in Galt [Lodi News-Sentinel (Calif.)]
The city may have found its first test case for its proposed “big box ordinance”: Wal-Mart.
The retail giant applied last week to build a 132,000 square-foot store at Twin Cities Road and Fermoy Way.
It’s the second Galt site Wal-Mart has eyed in the past two years.
They had previously looked at a spot near Boessow Road and Highway 99.
Community Development Director Curt Campion said Thursday night any big box rules — if eventually approved by the City Council — will likely apply to Wal-Mart’s new application.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Neptune Beach, FL. Battles Over Wal-Mart Continue
Battles with Wal-Mart haven’t abated in community [Florida Times-Union]
Even though Wal-Mart settled a lengthy dispute with Neptune Beach in March, others have continued hammering the retailer over its plans to build a Supercenter off Atlantic Boulevard.
Wal-Mart has been hit in the past few weeks by Beaches elected officials, residents still opposed to the concept of the massive store at the Beaches and homeowners and store owners near the planned site in the boulevard’s 600 block.
The Atlantic Beach City Commission agreed Monday to lobby the Florida Department of Transportation against a Wal-Mart proposal to remove four palm trees along an Atlantic Boulevard median in front of the store site to allow more turn lanes. The plan was not in the original development proposal.
“We most strongly request FDOT concurrence with leaving the median and turn lane as they currently exist,” Atlantic Beach Mayor Don Wolfson stated in a letter this week.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Oakley, CA. Study Shows Wal-Mart Would Hurt Local Business
Study says Wal-Mart would hurt Oakley retailers [Contra Costa (Calif.) Times]
Several supermarkets and a major retail store could close in the area if Wal-Mart is allowed to open an Oakley Supercenter.
Wal-Mart is proposing a 24-hour discount Supercenter with up to 230,000 square feet, including groceries, general merchandise and a seasonal garden center.If approved by the Oakley City Council, the new Wal-Mart would be an anchor tenant in the future River Oaks Crossing shopping center on the north side of Main Street.
An impact study released this week, though, indicates that Oakley’s CentroMart and Raley’s grocery stores might close due to Wal-Mart’s presence. Oakley only has three grocery stores at this time, but Safeway is supposed to open a store at Laurel Road and O’Hara Avenue.
“The impact on communities from large retailers such as Wal-Mart has clearly been established across the country,” said Lucky Communications Director Alicia Rockwell. “It isn’t going to be any surprise that they will probably put some stores out of business.”
The former Albertsons and now Lucky store in Oakley is less likely to face closure than Raley’s or CentroMart, according to the studies. As its neighbor in the Oakley Town Center, Rite-Aid is predicted to survive as well.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Lancaster, MA. Wal-Mart Makes “Rare” Decision To Withdraw
After more than 15 months of bitter controversy, a proposed 187,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter in rural Lancaster, Massachusetts is now dead. Wal-Mart has terminated its purchase and sale agreement for roughly 60 acres of land along Old Union Turnpike. A terse, four paragraph press release from Wal-Mart public affairs was issued through its public relations firm yesterday, announcing that the retailer was withdrawing its plans. “The decision,” Wal-Mart said, “is related to Wal-Mart’s recently announced plans to moderate growth of U.S. supercenters as part of leveraging capital resources through a strategy designed to improve returns and sales within U.S. stores.” Translation: the Lancaster store would have been located 3 miles from another Wal-Mart supercenter in Leominster, Massachusetts, causing both stores to cannibalize each other.
A company spokesman denied the decision to abandon the Lancaster plan was related to the construction of another Wal-Mart Supercenter three miles away. “It was not an easy decision to make,” the company’s regional public affairs manager told the Worcester Telegram, “and a very rare occurrence, but it was a business decision made after the annual shareholders meeting that the Lancaster project was not in sync with our overall growth strategy in the Northeast, and nationwide.” That means Wal-Mart decided three months ago to ditch the Lancaster Project. Lest other developers in New England get nervous, Wal-Mart added, “We have no other plans to withdraw any other stores in the Northeast.” The site Wal-Mart wanted in Lancaster has been used for at least 15 years as a golf center, and had extensive wetlands on the property which fed into a state-owned pond surrounded by residential homes.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Arcadia, FL. Wal-Mart Distribution Center Sues County Over Taxes
Arcadia, Florida is a city of roughly 7,000 people in DeSoto County. It has miles of orange groves, and pastures, but the largest building in this small community is a one million square foot Wal-Mart distribution center. The huge building was built on a former ranch on the edge of DeSoto and Charlotte counties in 2005. The D.C. is seven stories tall, and everyday, DeSoto County roads rumble with 4,800 truck and car trips in and out of the enormous facility. Across Route 17 from the warehouse is a 400 site V “resort” park called Live Oak. The Assistant Manager of Live Oak told the Daytona News-Journal that her RV residents have learned to accommodate the noise of the trucks and the building’s cooling system. “You just get used to it. At night, (snowbirds) complain about the noise, but they’re not here all the time,” the assistant manager explained. Officials in DeSoto county thought they were making the right decision when they allowed Wal-Mart to build. Wal-Mart says there are 450 jobs at the Arcadia plant, making an average wage of $12 an hour. That’s $25,000 a year—assuming a 40 hour work week. One worker interviewed by the newspaper said he started off loading pallets, but couldn’t keep up with production quotas, so he was moved into maintenance. “It’s hard work, no doubt. You got to go, go, go all night,” he said. DeSoto County Commissioner Ronald Neads told the News-Journal that turnover is high at the warehouse, and that the company is always hiring. Neads said the jobs don’t seem to have longevity. He estimated that only 450 of its 600 positions are filled. But DeSoto county has a bigger problem than unfilled jobs. The County is being sued by Wal-Mart over the level of property taxes it pays on its distribution center. This might seem like an ungrateful act by the giant corporation, since the distribution center was built with the help of state and federal taxpayers. Before the warehouse could be built, Route 17 had to be widened to handle the huge increase in traffic generated by the center. The facility also needed water and sewer facilities. DeSoto County put together a whopping $33 million in state and federal subsidies to pay for water and sewer connections, road improvements and other incentives for the world’s richest retailer. The Arcadia Wal-Mart has water and sewer thanks to U.S. taxpayers. As a token of appreciation, Wal-Mart has filed a lawsuit against DeSoto county, claiming that the county has over-assessed the facility at $99 million. The County’s Appraiser complains that Wal-Mart has “never said what they think they’re worth, just that it’s substantially less.” The County Appraiser notes that since filing the lawsuit, Wal-Mart has failed to pay DeSoto County their full property taxes due. “We’re not used to being sued,” he admits, “to a larger county that’s old hat, but it scares us to death.” That’s exactly the reaction Wal-Mart might have wished for.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, September 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Evansville, IN. Wal-Mart Plays Cards Close to Chest
Wal-Mart quiet on North store [Evansville Courier & Press]
As Wal-Mart officials plan a supercenter for along Indiana 66 at Newburgh, Ind., they are keeping mum about whether or not they’re still planning a supercenter for Evansville’s North Side.
Jason Wetzel, a spokesman for Wal-Mart’s regional office in Indianapolis, declined to reveal the status of Wal-Mart’s earlier plans to have a supercenter built along U.S. 41 North, between Lynch Road and Pigeon Creek. That store was first proposed in early 2004.
“We’re always looking for new opportunities to grow,” Wetzel said when asked about the proposal this week.
In preliminary plans filed with the Evansville-Vanderburgh Area Plan Commission in 2004, Wal-Mart officials indicated they would like a main entrance off U.S. 41 and a traffic light installed in the area of the proposed supercenter.
The Wal-Mart officials appeared to be aware of potential traffic problems and agreed to having a traffic impact study done, city transportation officials reported.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, September 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
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