BOARD APPROVES CORDOVA, TN WAL-MART DESPITE SUBSTANTIAL OPPOSITION
Wal-Mart wins approval to build Cordova supercenter [Memphis Business Journal (Tenn.)]
The Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board approved Thursday Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s proposal to build a 152,000-square-foot supercenter store at the corner of Houston Levee and Macon in Cordova.
The approval comes only days after the Office of Planning and Development issued a staff report recommending to reject the project, mainly due to insufficient infrastructure to support such a large retailer.
At the meeting Thursday, Chip Saliba, manager of land use controls at the OPD, presented OPD’s arguments against the development, acknowledging the site improvements suggested by Wal-Mart, including a smaller structure, greater building setback from the west, more landscaping, reduced parking and a commitment to provide off-site intersection improvements to all four legs of the Houston Levee/Macon Road intersection.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Friday, July 11 | 1 comments | Permalink
BIG BOX RESTRICTIONS CONSIDERED IN BROOKSVILLE, FL
Big Stores Face Tougher Rules [Hernando Today (Fla.)]
From reducing the wattage of light bulbs in their parking lots to the use of barrier walls to dampen noise, developers of large retail stores may soon have to adhere to tougher new building regulations in Hernando County.
County commissioners Wednesday voted unanimously to hold one more public hearing, on July 22, to consider adopting amendments to the new “Big Box” ordinance, which sets building parameters for retail establishments larger than 65,000 square feet, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot and JCPenney.
Commissioners at their land use hearing said they were satisfied with the changes but must wait until the second public hearing before formally adopting them.
The amended ordinance includes changes in vehicle access, expands store setbacks from the road, facilitates pedestrian walkways and requires retailers to make more visual enhancements to cut down on eye pollution.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Thursday, July 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
DEVELOPER LEVELING MOUNTAINS FOR WAL-MART IN KODAK, TN
Dumplin Creek commercial project ‘ahead of schedule’ [Mountain Press (Tenn.)]
The earth moving machines at the Dumplin Creek business site have been silent for a few days, but developer John Turley said that shouldn’t be seen as a sign of troubles for his project. In fact, he said, it’s quite the opposite.
“We’re way ahead of schedule,” Turley said.
After about 10 months of work, officials are eight months ahead of the schedule they set for themselves in developing the site on Interstate 40 for a shopping and business complex, he said. The project is far enough ahead of schedule that they are taking a break while they review what comes next and wait to get some permits.
“You know, once in a while you’ve got to stop and take a breather and see what you’ve done and what you’ve got left to do,” Turley said by phone on Tuesday.
What they’ve done is complete the first phase of land preparation, moving about 3.5 million cubic yards of earth from the mountaintop. They have still more to move, he said, and much of it will be used as fill to bring lower lying areas of the property up to the proper elevation.
Before they can do that, they will need to get several permits they are still awaiting from the state.
“There’s more to do than just moving the dirt,” he said. “There’s a huge amount of approval process.”
Despite the economic slump, he said interest in the project remains strong. They hope to be ready to close on property for Wal-Mart in November, he said, and are negotiating to have a Sam’s Wholesale Club located there as well.
“Our level of tenant interest, considering the economy, is great,” he said. “It’s substantial.”
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Thursday, July 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
Legal Blog: Race Discrimination Persists in the Deep South
Wal-Mart has, unsurprisingly, been the target of more lawsuits than one can count over the years. The company’s treatment of its workers and “save money at all costs” mentality has resulted in a flood of legal challenges ranging from single plaintiff suits to multi-million dollar class actions. Dukes v. Wal-Mart is of course one large example (the largest class action in American history, actually), as are the myriad wage/hour/overtime class actions the company faces.
Just as important as those large class actions, however, are the countless suits filed by individual plaintiffs – the tiny David trying to win justice over Wal-Mart’s Goliath. We at Wal-Mart Watch will be focusing on one of these stories each week, highlighting those cases that warrant further attention because of the light each sheds in its own way on how Wal-Mart does business.
Randall Nalls vs. Wal-Mart Stores, East, L.P.
Randall Nalls was employed as a “temporary remodel associate” at a Wal-Mart in Fayette, Alabama in June of 2006. During Nalls’ trial period as a temporary hire, a co-worker (Tony Gill) repeatedly used the term “n*gger” both in his presence and in reference to him with other workers. When Nalls approached his supervisor, Thomas Burks, about the incident, Burks pledged to address the issue immediately. Burks also felt it his personal duty to inform Nalls that usage of the term was acceptable for people ages 15-25 because of its appearance in the dictionary, and because of the rise of Black music and culture in society.
Burks’ method of dealing with the palpable racial tension was not limited to dismissing it, but also fueling it. On several occasions, Burke referred to Nalls as “boy” – usually in conjunction with the terms “idiot” and “dummy.” This racially hostile work environment, laden with implications of slavery and disempowerment, proved enough for Nalls to file a charge with the EEOC and slap Burk and Wal-Mart with its latest wave in a sea of Title VII claims.
A pretrial hearing has been set for August 1, 2008 in District Court, with a trial date currently set for September 15, 2008. Read below for more:
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 09 | 10 comments | Permalink
ONLY DAYS AFTER ITS DEFEAT, WAL-MART BACK ON THE TABLE IN MOON, PN
Moon rethinks Wal-Mart proposal [Beaver County Times (Pa.)]
The Moon Township Supervisors plan to hold a special meeting Thursday to reconsider Wal-Mart’s preliminary plans to develop a store on the current West Hills Shopping Center site.
The controversial plans were shot down, 3 votes to 2, during a marathon meeting last week that attracted close to 100 residents, many of whom voiced opposition to the plans fearing the development would choke traffic in the heart of the township and hurt smaller, locally owned businesses.
But supervisors Chairman Tim McLaughlin, who voted in favor of the plans, said Monday that board solicitor Michael F. Santicola called for the special meeting. McLaughlin referred all other questions to Santicola. Messages left at Santicola’s office and home were not returned.
Frank Sinatra, the other supervisor to vote in favor of the Wal-Mart plans, said he wasn’t sure why the meeting was being held, but suspected it was because “one of the supervisors who voted no is reconsidering their vote.”
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 08 | 0 comments | Permalink
WAL-MART SNEAKING INTO NICEVILLE, FL?
Wal-Mart, Home Depot in Niceville? [Northwest Florida Daily]
Happy Birthday, America!
Awhile back, we spoke with Pat Byrne, the man in charge at Valparaiso Realty. We spoke to him about his attempt to bring The Home Depot to Niceville. The Daily News had reported on this twice in the past.
Yes, Byrne said, there were workers clearing 11 acres of a 45-plus acre site, and he hoped one day The Home Depot would step past the letter-of-intent stage.
Then last week a faithful reader left us a phone message regarding a possible Wal-Mart coming to Niceville. So we called the city’s planning department and learned that Valparaiso Realty had secured preliminary permits for such a project.
Now, neither a letter of intent nor preliminary permits are a sure sign that a proposed project will happen. It’s way more complicated than that.
But last week (and yes, it was a holiday week) when we called Pat Byrne, we weren’t able to connect. So we don’t have an update on whether The Home Depot or Wal-Mart could end up just off John Sims Parkway in northeast Niceville.
This normally gets Tommy the Biz Terrier’s blood stirred up. But Tommy the Biz Editor has been around the block a few times. So he knows it’s best to remain patient.
For the time being, as his parents would say.
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 08 | 0 comments | Permalink
MEMPHIS OFFICE OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT REJECTS ‘UNSUSTAINABLE’ WAL-MART PLAN
The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development recommends to reject Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s proposed supercenter store at Macon and Houston Levee in Cordova.
The mega-retailer’s revised site plan, which has been reduced to 151,908 square feet, will come before the Land Use Control Board Thursday. A previous application was withdrawn from consideration earlier this year.
According to a Monday report by Chip Saliba, manager of land use controls at the OPD, the intersection will not sustain a supercenter with a regional draw despite improvements made to the proposed site plan in comparison to Wal-Mart’s prior submittal. These improvements include a smaller structure, greater building setback from the west, more landscaping, reduced parking and a commitment to provide off-site intersection improvements to all four legs of the Houston Levee/Macon Road intersection. The proposed building would also bear Wal-Mart’s new corporate logo, that the Memphis Business Journal reported June 26, and incorporate new design elements that aim to lessen its “big-box” effect.
Still, “it remains the opinion of the staff that the existing public facilities (namely roads), cannot absorb the impact of introducing a regional-sized retail facility such as this Wal-Mart Super Center,” Saliba stated.
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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 08 | 0 comments | Permalink
BATTLE STILL RAGING IN CORDOVA, TN
Wal-Mart fight is on, but intersection will end up commercial [Memphis Business Review]
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., wants to build its new prototype store in the Cordova area, at the intersection of Houston Levee and Macon.
The company is currently going through the process of plan approval at the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. Officials with OPD, along with residents living near the area of the store, have expressed concerns about the impact the store could have on the neighborhood.
Wal-Mart has responded by significantly decreasing the store’s size, from 267,000 square feet to 151,908 square feet, and the number of parking spaces, from 1,000 to 765. Wal-Mart has also committed to road improvements to alleviate the traffic generated by value shoppers. Many say it’s not enough.
The retailer will incorporate green building elements into its new ‘upscale’ prototype and has agreed to reposition the building farther from the neighborhood. It will also plant more trees and implement other landscape improvements.
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Monday, July 07 | 1 comments | Permalink
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