• Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
New posts

graytonbeachguy

Beach Fanatic
Jun 14, 2008
265
79
Too massive a change in the complexion of my homeground than I really wish to contemplate right now. Thank God I am surrounded by state forest! At least the crowds won't be at my back door.
 

happy2Bme

Beach Fanatic
Sep 24, 2007
879
1,243
Sowal
78,000 sf Walmart coming to Sowal

well, I don't know how long you have been here but I do know that you don't know many of us on this board or how many of us have done things "as neighbors and friends" and people who care about this community and state in general.
and you certainly have no idea of the waves of changes we have been affiliated with. So, don't assume that you have any idea of how many here have gone about getting things done please.
Just because you have not seen it, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. :wave:

I've been here more than 12 years, and I say bless you for your contribution.....may more follow your lead. I assume nothing, and watch everything with intimate interest. The good I wish for you, is good I wish for myself and my friends and neighbors, and my community as a whole. To wish otherwise, is to wish ill on me an mine, and that's illogical. Like a good dog, I don't poo in my own bed.
 

PC

Beach Lover
Aug 15, 2005
113
10
TN
Walmart is as Walmart does. I have my own beliefs about Walmart which is irrelevant, they are here and they are here to stay (look for one in Freeport sooner rather than later).

They are surely being subsidized by St. Joe in one way or another. St. Joe (and gov't. partners) causes infrastructure to happen - roads, schools, hospitals, airports, and commercial - including Walmart. St. Joe brought Publix to SoWal - hello! Ring a bell anyone?

The issue is what their entry into our market means. It means continued development. It means critical mass. It means the type of commercial development residents and visitors don't want here but they are going to get whether they like it or not. And in a few years they will mostly all be shopping and eating at chains whether they like it or not. When it all comes down to it we are the cattle and St. Joe and other corporations are holding the prod.

When the new airport expressway is complete, along with a new 331 bridge and 4-lane all the way to I-10 and points north ( and many other roads planned in the area), you won't even recognize this place. It will be one city from the gulf to I-10, from Pensacola to Panama City. The idea of a quaint SoWal will be just that - quaint.

Except for Scenic 30A. It will be built out and crowded sure, but it will still be beautiful and even more coveted, and even more exclusive - a playground for the rich. Lots, homes and condos will be worth 10 times what they are now. If you pull your head out of the national news for a second and look what's happening here you will see that. SoWal is still in a bubble, not a real estate bubble like we just had, but a bubble for the rich, a bubble for tourists, a bubble apart from the real world - just like Truman's. Some unique and popular places are not really hurt in the long run - Malibu, Martha's Vineyard, Sea Island, SoWal - get used to it.

I am not a realtor, developer, builder, lender, etc., just an observer of growth all over Florida and other hot spots around the world. The "bubble" affected this area but in the long view, it is all really all just starting here. We are on the map now, the world is coming.

Yes - now is a great time to buy.

You couldnt be more right!!!!
We can now cease all the talk about growth and what will happen to Sowal. When the topic comes up again just pull out this post and that will be all that needs to be said.

Once again, very good post bent.
 

Babyblue

Beach Fanatic
Mar 1, 2006
526
6
Seagrove Beach
Makes me nauseous - thank god I didn't buy property I was looking at over there. I could be living near a Wal-mart! :puke:Why couldn't they have stayed in Destin and PC w/ the rest of the tacky crap and box stores instead of coming here to destroy our happy lives!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I guess Wal-mart wanted to be closer to all of the unfinished subdivisions along 30-A and the and empty foreclosed homes. Wal-mart must think we are nearing the bottom and they expect growth... :funn:
 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
Stop wal mart !!!!

location is on St. Joe property on the northwest corner of U.S. 98 and West Hewett Road. It was only a matter of time, and is sure to put a lot of small businesses out.

How do you feel about Walmart coming to paradise?



http://www.co.walton.fl.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1644
:eek:

[FONT=&quot]Rauschkolb had it right in his comment in The Sun

.
[/FONT]It was stated best by Al Norman " how Wal Math works... one job created at Wal Mart ....minus one job destroyed at another retailer ....equals one job."

I lived in Destin in the 1990s and watched one third of smaller retail businesses close down within 3 years of the Wal Mart superstore opening there. Have we learned nothing?

The Sun states the poll reflects that many residents look forward to the development "...as long as it is not on 30A and is done properly. .."

It is not about keeping it off 30A, folks, we need to keep them out of South Walton! I live north of 98 in SRB and I do not want this in MY backyard, either . And have you ever seen a Wal Mart anywhere "...done properly"???

We are in hard economic times but there ARE alternatives to buying cheap food at Wal Mart. Grow a garden. Read a book. Care about what you feed your family. Eat less. Take the time. Educate yourself. Learn to cook. Every dollar you spend at Wal Mart goes out of our local economy in an armored truck to Arkansas and is not reinvested locally.

And here are the facts:
Wal Mart jobs will come at the expense of other retailers that are laying off or simply going out of business. The quality of jobs at Wal Mart are not on par with the quality of jobs being lost, will not be stable, the wages will barely keep employees out of poverty and their health care coverage will either come from their employed spouse (if they are REAL lucky!) or from YOUR state taxes. I think companies like Wal Mart should pay their share. YOU have to pay your taxes. Have you worked for a local business lately? THEY have to pay. And pay. And pay.

If you are facing layoffs as an employer or an employee or can not afford your companys health plan or can not afford to offer your employees health coverage, you should know that you are still paying for someone elses health care, so Wal Mart does not have to.

You should know that 11 PERCENT of Wal Mart employees IN FLORIDA are receiving Medicaid, these Wal Mart employees are paid so low and their employer, the largest retailer in Florida, in the USA, and in the world, will not offer their employees a decent health plan, so those employees qualify for MEDICAID. And their employer encourages them to work the system. Wal Marts HR Dept can tell you what is available in state aid for their employees.

The State of Florida YOUR TAXES pay for Medicaid for Wal Mart employees because their employer does not have to. It cost YOU the taxpayer in Florida 80 MILLION DOLLARS in 2005, to cover Wal Mart employees Medicare.

Sign ordinances? Forget that, Start looking at the state funds that are spent - MILLIONS....tax breaks, loopholes, infastructure, deals, etc, struck between the county, the state, and Wal Mart when new Wal Marts come in. THAT will open your eyes. And yes, THAT's your tax dollars, too.

We need real jobs here not Wal Mart jobs.

Small business growth is the only way out of our economic crisis. Wal Mart in South Walton is the nail in the coffin for local retailers.

If you own or work in a retail business that sells anything that Wal Mart sells you should be fighting this all the way, because Wal Mart in SRB will shut your business down.


Read more on my FB Page, Susan Simmons Beck, your comments are welcome.

 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
Wal Mart in SRB

I had clients and contacts in many small Kentucky towns, and every time a Walmart opened up on the edge of those towns, those downtowns died. Then after 10 years or so, the Walmart decided it needed a "bigger and newer" place or needed to be a "Super Walmart" and it leaves it's ugly shell behind to devastate the ugly strip mall and the local businesses that sprang up around it. Your experience in the Garden District was maybe a more urban phenomena, but I have seen nothing but bad for the local businesses of rural areas when a Walmart sets up shop right in the middle.

I agree nothing but bad, and a bad store on 98 in SRB is no better than a bad store on 30A, if you are the property owner that would like to keep your property value intact.
 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
Bobby, I stated it above but in my experience this isn't true. Funky, niche merchants can actually thrive in a Wal-Mart world because they offer two things WM never will, namely, unusual products not consumed enough to clutter WM's valuable shelf space and good customer service.

Bobby J is correct - I lived in Destin in the 1990's 1/3 of smaller retail businesses went OUT OF BUSINESS within 3 years (most in 18 months) of the opening of the Destin Wal Mart Superstore. Wal Mart is the kiss of death for any small retailer or service that's product or service is also sold by Wal Mart,
 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
...and even as we write this, there are those who say that reviving the consumerism is the only way to get our economy functioning again...:yikes:
Wal Mart consumerism will not help our economy, it will only help Wal Mart, which does not need any help.

We need LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES to be able to obtain credit and stabilize and hire staff who can get paid and reinvest in the LOCAL ECONOMY. We need these businesses to succeed, to keep employing people and to make money, be profitable, and reinvest in our local economy. Spending your money at Wal Mart has the opposite effect.
 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
I was going to let this thread go to but then someone makes that statement. Well I have done the not going to wally for a yr and going to wally for a yr deal and compared cost, we saved around 1100$ by going there as opposed to just going to publix and kroger all the time. Now that was my savings, I dont know what the walmart haters buy but 1100$ is a big start for saving for the next trip to Sowal.

Please explain how I can save "thousands" buy NOT going to wallyworld, Im all ears..

You CAN save thousands by dropping a a good percentage of your take home pay, every week, at Wal Mart, but the thousands that you DO spend (not saved) are not paying decent wages, are not being reinvested in your community, and your taxes are paying for Wal Mart employees health care. If Wal Mart comes into SOWAL, you might find that you don't WANT to come here any more, at all. 1/3 of the small local busineeses WILL go out of business (probably more like 50% in this economy), and the place will not be the same. We saw it happen in Destin due directly to Super Wal Mart, and it is about to happen here. The locals that go under will be replaced by chains (think Subway, McDonalds, etc) and that's all you will have here. Is THAT a unique place you want to visit?
 

DpBluSea

Beach Comber
Mar 20, 2009
22
8
Bobby, I stated it above but in my experience this isn't true. Funky, niche merchants can actually thrive in a Wal-Mart world because they offer two things WM never will, namely, unusual products not consumed enough to clutter WM's valuable shelf space and good customer service.

Even if that is true, that Funky Niche merchants can thrive, you must think about all the other businesses that would definitly NOT. Small markets will not. Many restaurants will not. Automotive, tires, will NOT survive. A few funky niche merchants surviving can not contribute enough to the job market, we need more small busnesses to be able to employ people for jobs. It's going to take a lot of jobs at the local small business level to jump start those jobs and help our economy climb out of this mess. Wal Mart brings the worst jobs and puts small retailers and businesses out of business.
 
New posts


Sign Up for SoWal Newsletter