Murfreesboro, TN. Residents Don’t Want A Third Wal-Mart Supercenter
Murfreesboro, Tennessee already has two Wal-Mart superstores: one on South Rutherford Boulevard, and a second on Old Fort Parkway. For a city with less than 93,000 people, some residents think they have enough Wal-Marts. But not Mayor Tommy Bragg. “You find that neighborhoods spring up in a lot of places and people like to have neighborhood shopping. I feel like is apparent that our community is growing and access needs to spread to other neighborhoods.” How any elected official could call a store 4 times the size of a football field an example of “neighborhood” shopping, is a mystery---but the developer of this project also has maintained a mystery of its own. After months of talking about the so-called ‘Cannonsburg Place’ shopping center, M&W Murfressboro Joint Venture has refused to identify who the proposed anchor store is. The developer claims a tenant
has not signed a contract yet. But the main building, at 204,000 s.f. with 977 parking spaces and a gas station, is clearly another Wal-Mart supercenter. Perhaps the developer remembers the hue and cry that arose in
2005, when plans for a 3rd Wal-Mart supercenter on Memorial Boulevard were defeated because of strong community opposition. Mayor Bragg says this new project has not drawn fire from any critics yet. The city’s Planning Director told the Daily News Journal that this big box store would change the “paradigm” on South Church Street and County Farm Road. Residents would agree, because the superstore is totally out of scale with the rest of the area, which is predominately residential. “This is a large development,” the Planning Director admitted. “It is going to have a large impact.” Residents turned out at a meeting of the Murfreesboro Planning
Commission in early November to protest the plan. The land not only has to be rezoned from residential to planned commercial development, a portion of the parcel has to be annexed into the city. “It is an area of growth -
current and future growth,” the developer told the Murfreesboro Post. “We feel it is an ideal situation for a big box.” The developer is telling residents the project will be a “high end retail development,” with greenspace, an active fountain, walking areas and benches.
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, December 18 | 0 comments | Permalink
The Wal-Mart Effect: When Wal-Mart Leaves Town
Many communities are eager to see a new Wal-Mart come to town, but few think of the effect the retailer will have if and when it leaves. This article from Minnesota’s St. Cloud Times gives a local perspective to the retailer’s global prospects. Visit Battle-Mart for more information about fighting Wal-Mart in your local community.
Wal-Mart’s exit is boon, bane for communities [St. Cloud Times (Minn.)]
An empty Wal-Mart building sits along a stretch of road in Little Falls and shoppers have been rerouted to a newer, bigger Wal-Mart down the street.
Its owners have taken care of the old building after the Wal-Mart Supercenter was built in August. It’s been repainted a shade of light green, masking signs of what once thrived there.
At any given time, about 300 to 400 former Wal-Mart stores sit empty around the nation, in some cases for as long as five to seven years, said Ken Stone, a retired professor from Iowa State University who has studied Wal-Mart for about 20 years. Those empty buildings can be a blight to a community and area businesses if they sit untouched for too long.
“It’s a real problem, there’s no question about it,” Stone said.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, December 18 | 11 comments | Permalink
Nationwide Protests Against Wal-Mart
Across the country this week, citizens and activists are taking a stand against Wal-Mart. It’s the busiest selling season for the reatiler, and local communities are standing up to its unfair practices, unsafe products and unacceptable behavior. From Wake Up Wal-Mart:
Through its relentless pressure on suppliers to reduce costs, Wal-Mart fosters a corporate culture that encourages cheap manufactures to cut costs and cut corners. The result is that American children are literally placed in harms way when they play with cheaply-made toys from retailers like Wal-Mart.
Local papers have covered allied protests in Minnesota, several in California, and, below, Michigan.
Candlelight vigil against a Wal-Mart in Lincoln Park [Detroit News]
A candlelight vigil is slated for 6-7 p.m. tonight at the Lincoln Park Shopping Center on the northwest corner of Southfield and Dix-Toledo by a group that hopes to keep mega-retailer Wal-Mart from moving into center.
The group, called Wake up Wal-Mart Downriver, claims the discount chain destroys local businesses by undercutting prices, and sells unsafe products imported from China.
Nick Infante, Michigan spokesman for Wal-Mart, said the company now has no plans for a store at the site, which straddles the Allen Park/Lincoln Park border, with about 75 percent of the property in Lincoln Park.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, December 18 | 17 comments | Permalink
Alabama Site Fight: Wal-Mart Buys more Land
Wal-Mart buys land for Airport store [Mobile Press-Register (Ala.)] 
Wal-Mart paid $5.59 million for almost 20 acres on Airport Boulevard west of Hillcrest Road, and plans to build a 121,000-square-foot store there by 2010, according to court records and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. The seller was Greeno Properties North II Ltd ., whose president is Elli ott B. Maisel . Jerry O’Brien of O’Brien & Associates represented Wal-Mart and John Vallas of Saad & Vallas Real ty Group worked for the sellers.
The 36 lots in the new addition to the Stonehedge subdivision on Grelot Road have sold for more than $4.3 million, according to the developers B.T. Roberts of Roberts Development Co . and Rich ard Rowan of Rowan Realty & Development .
Local investors paid $712,500 to the Catholic Arch diocese of Mobile for 46 acres on Halls Mill Road off Interstate 10 for future warehouse development, according to Burton Clark of Cummings & Associates . The land has 1,700 front feet on I-10 and adjoins Copeland’s Pet Motel & Grooming on Halls Mill Road.
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Posted by Andrew Yonki on Tuesday, December 18 | 0 comments | Permalink
Tennessee Site Fight: Wal-Mart Plan Stalled
Land Use holds Wal-Mart application [Memphis Business Journal] 
The Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board on Thursday voted to hold an application by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to build a 176,305-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter on Houston Levee and Macon Road.
The board said additional time is needed to review the application. It will come before the board again in 30 days.
Board member Jon McCreery, principal of Chamberlain & McCreery Inc., said that a plan for a store with an economic impact of $1 billion over 10 years can be held for another month.
Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT) plan was met with resistance from neighborhood residents.
The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development’s recommendation to the board was to hold their vote until further assessment and possible modifications are made. One of the biggest challenges cited in the OPD report is the close proximity of single-family homes to the site.
Posted by Andrew Yonki on Friday, December 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Florida Site Fight: Wal-Mart Finally Approved
Wal-Mart Gets Green Light For Store On Dale Mabry [The Tampa Tribune]
Five years after first submitting plans, Wal-Mart has won the county’s approval for a superstore, just south of the apex of U.S. 41 and North Dale Mabry Highway.
The approval follows three attempts by the Arkansas retail giant to build a store just north of Hillsborough County. Previous attempts - the first in 2002 and another in 2003 - failed after the company was forced to withdraw.
Plans approved this month were put into the county’s review pipeline in 2004. In the ensuing three years, Wal-Mart spent hours negotiating with state highway officials and CSX railroad officials about how future shoppers will get to the store.
In the end, Wal-Mart failed to persuade the state Department of Transportation to open a full-access median on Dale Mabry between County Line Road and U.S. 41. DOT officials said the location didn’t meet state standards for the proper distance between traffic lights.
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Posted by Andrew Yonki on Thursday, December 13 | 0 comments | Permalink
Jacksonville Small Retailers Plead for Help with New Wal-Mart Looming
Merchants plead for Atlantic sales help [Florida Times-Union/Shorelines (Fla.)]
They would like to be able to hold sales outside their stores, but the city code forbids it.
By DREW DIXON, Shorelines
ATLANTIC BEACH - Small businesses are pleading with the City Commission to ease a restriction on merchandise sales outside a building that some say is crippling their business.
“Small businesses are very hard to keep going,” said Gail Lee, owner of Gail’s Boutique, 469-11 Atlantic Blvd.
Lee and two other small shop owners appealed to the City Commission Monday during the public comment portion of the regular meeting.
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Posted by Andrew Yonki on Wednesday, December 12 | 0 comments | Permalink
New Orleans Parish wants Wal-Mart to Pay for Road Damage from its Trucks
St. John wants Wal-Mart to listen [New Orleans Times-Picayune]
Parish seeks firm’s help to pay for road repairs
The St. John the Baptist Parish Council is trying to get Wal-Mart’s attention.
The council asked parish administrators Tuesday night to write a letter to the company about a road used by the retail center’s transport trucks that needs repairs.
Council members said they might consider imposing a load limitation on Carrollwood Drive if Wal-Mart will not help pay for the repairs.
“It’s absolutely terrible,” said Steve Lee, who represents the area and made the motion to send the letter. “It’s a shame for anyone to ride down it.”
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Posted by Andrew Yonki on Wednesday, December 12 | 0 comments | Permalink
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