OREGON SITE FIGHT: WHERE’S WAL-MART?
Column - Since You Asked: Where’s Wal-Mart? [(Ore.) Mail Tribune]
With all the work going on along Highway 99 related to ODOT’s new interchange, I keep looking to see if there’s any construction related to the new Wal-Mart at the former Miles Field. What is the status of that? Wasn’t it supposed to be open December 2005? What’s the hold-up?
— Don B., Medford
It’s the traffic, Don. Rather, the issue revolves around whether or not Wal-Mart should be required to do an extensive traffic study and mitigate any traffic impacts to numerous intersections. We’re waiting for the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals to make a decision about the 207,000-square-foot store.
It all began back in 2003, when the Wal-Mart Supercenter was first proposed for the 19.5-acre site between Center Drive and Highway 99, the former home of Miles Field. Medford’s Site Plan and Architectural Commission approved the project, but the City Council rejected its approval in 2004.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Tuesday, July 31 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: EXPANSION PLANS
Wal-Mart acknowledges it has expansion plans in store [Whittier (Calif.) Daily News]
Wal-Mart is considering relocating its existing Industry site or opening up a new one in a neighboring community, officials said.
Though no concrete plans have been made, the big-box retailer has identified potential sites, Wal-Mart spokesman Aaron Rios said Wednesday.
“We’d love to be able to expand in the area,” Rios said. “Whether that’s the city of Industry or in one of the neighboring areas, it is a good market - one that needs additional resources.”
The Industry location - in the 17,000 block of Gale Avenue - is a popular store among consumers, raking in between $40 million to $60 million a year, Rios said.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, July 30 | 0 comments | Permalink
IDAHO SITE FIGHT: MAKING DEAL FOR LAND
Wal-Mart makes deal for land east of Worland [AP via Channel 8 News, Idaho]
WORLAND, Wyo. (AP) - Wal-Mart has purchased land for construction of a super center east of Worland.
Josh Fair is spokesman for the Arkansas-based retail giant. He says that Wal-Mart plans to build a 99,000 square-foot super center on land it purchased recently from the Earl Bower Farms Company.
Fair says the timing of opening the store will be determined by regional and national expansion plans over the next few months. He says building and opening the store is a complicated process.
Roger Bower of the Earl Bower Farms Company says that he understands construction of the super center would begin next spring. The company says it has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart for the property since last spring.
Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, July 30 | 0 comments | Permalink
Carlsbad, CA. Upscale Wal-Mart Should Be Voted Down, Say Residents
On July 19th, the story broke that Wal-Mart had purchased a 17-acre site at College Boulevard in Carlsbad, California, with plans to build “its most upscale store in the nation,” according to the North County Times. The land transfer took place two months earlier, but finally leaked out.
Carlsbad is known as the “village by the sea.” The community has roughly 92,000 residents, plus thousands of tourists year round. Money magazine named Carlsbad one of the most desirable places to live in America. It’s only 35 minutes to downtown San Diego, with Los Angeles and Tijuana, Mexico only one hour away. Carlsbad boasts of its natural landscapes and 7 miles of beautiful coastline. The city has green parks, graceful lagoons, and pristine sandy white beaches---but no Wal-Marts. But there are plenty of existing Wal-Marts surrounding Carlsbad. A total of 6 Wal-Marts lie within 22 miles of Carlsbad, with three Wal-Mart discount stores in Oceanside, California alone, within 7 miles of Carlsbad. Carlsbad has attracted corporate headquarters for corporations like Jazzercise, Jenny Craig, the Gemological Institute of America, K2 Inc., Isis Pharmaceuticals, Invitrogen, and Sunrise Medical. Carlsbad is also home to more than 20 golf companies. “Apart from its picturesque scenery, coastal distinction, and high standard of living,” the city’s website says, “Carlsbad has truly become an economic jewel of San Diego County. Carlsbad has enjoyed a strong local economy for many years, much of which has come from industrial development.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, July 30 | 0 comments | Permalink
California: Wal-Mart Expansion Could Doom Competition
Wal-Mart could doom Save Mart [Tracy Press]
Tracy’s Save Mart supermarkets could take a direct hit from Wal-Mart if it succeeds in expanding its Grant Line Road store to include a grocery store, according to a consultant’s report.
Emeryville-based Bay Area Economics concluded that Save Mart at 1950 11th St., which is already performing poorly, could be shuttered and that a second Save Mart at 2005 N. Tracy Blvd. might also be in danger of closing. The Tracy Boulevard market also is generating revenue below expectations, the report said.
Wal-Mart, which built in Tracy in 1993 at 3010 Grant Line Road, wants to expand its existing 125,689-square-foot store by 82,704 square feet to include a supermarket. It also wants to enlarge its existing garden center.
The city’s environmental impact report on the project was released this week. It included an economic study by the consulting firm on how the Wal-Mart expansion will affect the city’s five other supermarkets — the two Save Marts, the former Albertson’s (now also a Save Mart), Safeway and Food Maxx — and Costco.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Friday, July 27 | 1 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: CARLSBAD GEARING UP FOR BATTLE?
Wal-Mart plans spiffy store in Carlsbad [The (Ark.) Morning News]
Wal-Mart plans to open a store in Carlsbad, Calif. that may be its most upscale facility in the nation so far, according to one newspaper report.
The Bentonville-based retailer has purchased 17 acres at College Boulevard and El Camino Real in Carlsbad, an upscale coastal community where homes reportedly start at $500,000.
Although Wal-Mart had not submitted plans for the store as of this week, company spokesman Aaron Rios told the North County Times in California that the store would be an “absolute paradigm shift.”
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, July 27 | 0 comments | Permalink
La Puente, CA. Wal-Mart Gone---For Now
Residents in La Puente, California can relax-—for now. The stories about a Wal-Mart supercenter coming to this community of 41,000 people are off the table. La Puente is located 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. La Puente is predominantly residential. The city has freeway access from the 10 Interstate and 60 Freeway. The City’s name “La Puente” means the bridge in old Spanish and refers to an early bridge built across the San Jose Creek by members of the Portola-Serra expedition in 1769. European settlers arrived by wagon train from New Mexico and obtained title to the large 48,000 acre Rancho La Puente. In the 1930’s, the area was famous for its fruit and walnut groves. Today, the city is characterized as a suburban community, with roughly a 3.5 square mile land area. It was also an area targeted for a new Wal-Mart supercenter. But the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports this week that the giant retailer will not be submitting an application anytime soon. The retailer now says it has shifted its focus away from La Puente to possibly relocating its existing store in Industry, California, or another neighboring community.
A Wal-Mart public relations spokesman said yesterday that the retailer had been looking seriously at La Puente, but was now looking at surrounding cities. Wal-Mart said no firm plans were decided upon yet, but that La Puente had been spared. Wal-Mart had considered becoming the anchor store on an 11.5 acre downtown parcel planned for Hacienda Boulevard in La Puente, according to the City Manager. In typical fashion, however, Wal-Mart left the back door open just a crack. The company told the Valley Tribune that they might still consider another La Puente site in the future.
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, July 27 | 0 comments | Permalink
WASHINGTON SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART’S LEGAL FIGHT NOT OVER
Wal-Mart’s legal fight in Chelan isn’t over [Ellensburg (Wash.) Daily Record]
CHELAN — An estimated 100 people attended a three-hour hearing on July 10 that will determine whether Wal-Mart and other big-box stores will be allowed in Chelan’s business park on the eastern edge of town.
Hearing examiner Andy Kottkamp allowed additional written testimony through July 13, and expects to make a recommendation to the City Council by the end of this month.
The city’s Planning Department has recommended that buildings at the Apple Blossom Center where Wal-Mart is located should be determined based on the size of the lot.
The proposal would set a maximum building size of 27 percent of the lot size for single-story buildings and 40 percent of the lot size for multiple-story buildings.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Thursday, July 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
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