Texas Site Fight: The Calm Before The Storm?
Wal-Mart Truce - The Calm Before The Storm? [XKAN-TV News, Texas]
When word got out late last fall that the city of Austin had approved a site plan at a North Austin mall that included a Wal-Mart store, it didn’t take long for an organization called Responsible Growth for Northcross to get off the ground.
“We started with, I think, six people in a coffee shop, and within two days, it was a dozen people at somebody’s house, and within two weeks, we had several hundred people in a church,” said Hope Morrison, president for Responsible Growth for Northcross, also called RG4N.
Lincoln Properties has city approval for the Wal-Mart construction at Northcross Mall, which sits at Burnet Road and Anderson Lane, but neighborhood groups joined to stop the project with a lawsuit.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, August 17 | 0 comments | Permalink
Arizona Site Fight: Victory in Cave Creek
Wal-Mart kills plan for Cave Creek store [The Arizona Republic]
Wal-Mart halted plans to build a Supercenter in Cave Creek by 2010, the company announced Tuesday, as it works to slow growth amid forecasts of shrinking consumer spending.
The big-box retailer asked to withdraw a General Plan amendment application with Cave Creek, canceling a Thursday neighborhood meeting that would have disclosed project details to residents, officials said.
If approved, the store would have comprised nearly 20 acres southeast of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway.
The store is one of many projects placed on hold following recent re-evaluations of the chain’s national growth strategy, said Wal-Mart zoning attorney Sean Lake.
The sudden retreat is “related to the economy cycle,” said Cave Creek Town Manager Usama Abujbarah.
The store is one of many projects placed on hold following recent re-evaluations of the chain’s national growth strategy, said Wal-Mart zoning attorney Sean Lake.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 16 | 0 comments | Permalink
Arizona Site Fight: Battle Looms
Possible battle looms over planned Wal-Mart [The Arizona Republic]
A Wal-Mart is planned in Cave Creek, and town officials are gearing up for a possible battle royal over plans to build a Supercenter on nearly 20 acres southeast of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway.
The developer would need Cave Creek Town Council approval for a major amendment in the town’s general plan, followed by rezoning to commercial, from residential, said Cave Creek Planning Director Ian Cordwell.
The entire process could take months, even years, Cordwell said.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 16 | 0 comments | Permalink
Cave Creek, AZ. Town To Poll Residents On Wal-Mart
Unless the people in Cave Creek, Arizona have been living in a cave, they know the downside of locating a Wal-Mart superstore in their town. The Town of Cave Creek is located in northern Maricopa County and is bounded by Maricopa County to the north, Phoenix to the west and south, Carefree to the east and Scottsdale to the southeast. The Town encompasses approximately 31 square miles. The town’s population in 2000 was less than 3,800 people. According to today’s Arizona Republic, local officials in Cave Creek are expecting some stones to fly over a proposed Wal-Mart superstore located—-ironically--on Carefree Highway. That 20 acre site is not likely to turn into a carefree romp for Wal-Mart. The construction of a supercenter on this site will require an amendment to the town’s general plan, plus a rezoning from residential to commercial. Based on those two facts alone, this project can be killed. Whenever land is not properly zoned, and requires the master plan to be ignored---it’s a great opportunity for a citizen’s group to lob rocks during the hearing process.
To cozy up to the neighbors, Wal-Mart is hosting one of its routine “neighborhood meetings” this Thursday at a local church. These dog and pony shows end up being all dog, and no pony. Local residents have flooded such events with opponents, turning the PR event into an anti-Wal-Mart moment. But Wal-Mart may have some selling to do with local officials as well. The town’s manager told the Arizona Republic that local officials have “mixed feelings” about the project. “The positive side is, it would generate good sales tax,” the town manager told the newspaper. “But the negative side (is) the impact to the area.” He’s not even right about the sales tax---because local merchants will fold. Town officials have already allowed a Lowe’s store to build on the same intersection of Carefree Highway, which motorists will soon want to rename, Headache Highway.
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, August 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
OKLAHOMA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART TO BUILD “URBAN” SUPERCENTER
Wal-Mart coming to downtown [Tulsa World]
Supercenter is coming downtown as the anchor tenant to a proposed East Village mixed-use redevelopment project, developers confirmed Thursday.
Real estate developers John Williams of Claremore and Tom Seay of Arkansas have teamed on the project.
Williams, sole principal of Downtown Tulsa Developers LLC, has purchase options on about 15 acres of land owned by Bill White, owner of a former car dealership, and the Nordam Group, an aerospace component manufacturer.
The property sits roughly between Frankfort Avenue and U.S. 75 between Fourth and Sixth streets.
“Once the public understands the project and what it will do to the whole east end, I can’t possibly imagine why they wouldn’t come on board,” Williams said.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, August 03 | 1 comments | Permalink
TEXAS SITE FIGHT: THIS DESERT LIFE
Wal-Mart buying up nearby property [The Desert Dispatch]
BARSTOW — Harold Wallis stood next to a chain-link and watched firefighters extinguish the flames that gutted an old, abandoned house near Wal-Mart. A former owner of the house, Wallis said he and other property owners in the area recently sold their parcels to the shopping powerhouse.
According to county records, Wal-Mart bought six of the seven lots on the 2000 block East Main Street. The properties exchanged hands on May 31, 2007.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, July 27 | 0 comments | Permalink
Cities Weigh The Big Box Effect
Two articles express the difficulties cities and their residents face when deciding whether to approve big box development. Does a new Wal-Mart really mean more tax revenue and jobs for the local community? Or are sales and employees merely being shuttled to a new retail outlet at the expense of another?
Cities often approve development for retail establishments such as Wal-Mart because they anticipate a boost in sales tax collections, but that only becomes reality if the new store draws new shoppers from outside the city, or keeps locals from leaving to to spend their money elsewhere. If not, new stores would simply draw business away from existing stores, in effect “reshuffling” sales tax collections.
Although big-box stores often seduce cities with promises of new jobs and increased tax dollars, cities often lose out in the end… Jobs and tax dollars are lost when corporate competitors force out smaller stores or restaurants, and cities often have to invest thousands in road and sewer improvements to accommodate large developments.
Colorado Springs, CO, and Vallejo, CA, are facing similar situations. Both towns are attempting to balance $9+ million budget deficits, and fund most of thier services through sales tax collections. And both are wrestling with the question of whether big box development can be enough of an economic activity generator to offset the drawbacks brought with it.
Cities weigh effects of big-box stores [Contra Costa Times]
Big boxes can be a big headache [The Gazette]
Posted by Corey Himrod on Wednesday, July 25 | 12 comments | Permalink
Optometrists in Texas Sue: Wal-Mart Illegally Pressuring for More Days, Longer Hours
Another day, another lawsuit for Wal-Mart. The retailer is facing a possible class action in Texas for violating Texas law in its dealings with optometrists who lease space within Wal-Mart stores.
The Texas Optometry Act requires many things, among them a literal “wall of separation” between the store and the optometry office, with a separate door into the office. The Act also prohibits a for-profit operation like Wal-Mart from influencing the hours and appointment schedules of optometrists. Only Tennessee has a similar statute, although it doesn’t offer the same level of protection as the Texas law.
The lawsuit reveals some rather disturbing Wal-Mart habits. Optometrists are often recruited by Wal-Mart straight out of school, with the promise of a steady stream of customers. It is alleged that Wal-Mart leaves the new optometrists alone for a couple years, before slowly exerting pressure for the hours/worktime increase. Apparently its not surprising to find an optometrist who initially began working a normal five day schedule to eventually be open seven days a week, faced with the prospect of having to start a new practice and endure a possible loss in income if Wal-Mart’s demands are not met.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of Texas, is challenging the legality of the leases used by Wal-Mart, and the retailer’s influencing of the business hours and appointment schedules of optometrists once the lease agreement has been signed.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, July 23 | 3 comments | Permalink
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