Not so much Scooty as people who actually shop Wal-Mart. Like any business, when the customer speaks, Wal-Mart will listen. I don't know if they worry about luring the anti-Wal-Mart crowd through the doors.
78,000 sf Walmart coming to SoWal [opening June15]
- Thread starter Kurt
- Start date
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
Not so much Scooty as people who actually shop Wal-Mart. Like any business, when the customer speaks, Wal-Mart will listen. I don't know if they worry about luring the anti-Wal-Mart crowd through the doors.
hmmmm, I passed by both the sowal and niceville walmarts yesterday. i was pleasantly surprised to see the niceville one tucked behind trees of off 20. Why in the hail did they have to clear cut the sowal site? They blew it big time, imho. UGH!
Good point. If I had to guess I'd say Walmart wasn't able to buy the Niceville land and cut down all the trees.
There is no doubt that those who approved the new WalMart did a pee poor job of negotiation. They could have insisted on one that was architectually very pleasing to the eye and also insisted a line of trees remain.
If WalMart had really wanted to build the store, they would have listened and complied. They did so in Edmond, Oklahoma. Its too late now but maybe a lesson for the future.
If WalMart had really wanted to build the store, they would have listened and complied. They did so in Edmond, Oklahoma. Its too late now but maybe a lesson for the future.
I suspect that part of the reason for the landscaping at the Niceville site has to do with the land itself- hilly with wetlands in some areas and some issues involved with drainage into Swift Creek. (I think that at the time the project was approved, there were also endangered species concerns/regulations because Swift Creek was classified as Okaloosa Darter territory) You couldn't just level that whole area and call it good like you can on the dry & sandy parts of US 98.
Even with the Ruckel family's tendency to develop the land they own slowly, one of the reasons why that parcel was vacant for so long was because it was always going to be somewhat more difficult and expensive to develop than the K-Mart/Palm Plaza area to the west.
Even with the Ruckel family's tendency to develop the land they own slowly, one of the reasons why that parcel was vacant for so long was because it was always going to be somewhat more difficult and expensive to develop than the K-Mart/Palm Plaza area to the west.
I do recognize that some of the anti-Walmart propaganda is spread by those with a pro-union agenda.
But a store can be non-union and still treat employees decently - many of Wal-mart's competitors are also non-union, including Target.
Wal-mart is not on my sheet list because it is non-union (I actually think there is very little use for unions in 2011 America) Walmart is on my list for the way they treat their employees, how they profit off our tax dollars, lie, and destroy communities.
To say that on average local businesses treat employees the same or worse than Wal-mart is utter crap. First because it is almost impossible to do so unless you are involved in human trafficking, and second because local businesses do not have the $$$ to skirt the regulations and avoid the consequences like Wal-mart does.
Costco is largely non-union- only a few stores in the Northeast and California that are former Price Clubs- and they generally get very high marks for treating retail workers as human beings and subsidizing their health insurance while keeping customer costs v. low. (I really wish that company would decide it was worth it to expand along I-10 from Louisiana to Ft. Walton Beach or Panama City. )
Like the new Publix did?
Exactly. I'm sure that Wal-Mart's landscaping is coming, but the site is just a mud pit right now. Putting up trees before all the heavy equipment leaves does not make much sense to me. I for one am surprised at how small the overall development footprint is.
unfortunately, the local surveys presented in the walton sun indicated the majority of people here wanted the walmart. i know i was stunned!! every time i drive by that monstrosity, i am sickened.