I don't see it as a problem, I see it as the natural progression of commercial enterprise following residential development, a pattern one will witness all across our country. Your last statement is one I will agree with 100% but sowal comprises many areas not just 30A so all who are affected have a voice and are equal. Change is coming, control it but be realistic.
78,000 sf Walmart coming to SoWal [opening June15]
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I don't see it as a problem, I see it as the natural progression of commercial enterprise following residential development, a pattern one will witness all across our country. Your last statement is one I will agree with 100% but sowal comprises many areas not just 30A so all who are affected have a voice and are equal. Change is coming, control it but be realistic.
Yes, change in inevitable and there is no stopping the machine. Control is necessary, especially in as ecologically unique an area like South Walton where 15 Coastal Dune Lakes dot the area. Only 5 areas in the world are known to have Coastal Dune Lakes. American Northern Pacific Coast, New Zealand, Australia, Madagascar and Florida's Panhandle Gulf Coast (largely South Walton County). That alone qualifies them as a very rare phenomenon and worthy of anyone's time to control the natural progression of commercial enterprise that follows residential development. I shutter to think how that area will adapt to carelessly discarded plastic Walmart bags becoming part of the landscape, but sadly I'm sure we'll justify that in the name of progress too.
Plastic Walmart bags are carelessly discarded in greater numbers than other retailers?
Something about litter from big corporations that smiles at you I guess.
Refuse randomly discarded by anyone, regardless of where it comes from, says much more about the level of mentality of the individual much more so than it does about fascist big/small-box or home-grown store where the individual shops. Ignorance and/or laziness is no excuse....even animals don't tend to soil their own territory.
has the zoning and signage been approved? being up in Portland Oregon where one of the large issues is traffic, large retailers have fit into the urban community quite successfully, keeping their stores in line with the "look" of new urbanism, as well as, keeping traffic down to a minumum for commuting reasons. Local stores in Oregon have all gone "no Plastic" to keep bags from hitting the enviroment and making the consumer choose to use recycled bags or paper.
I personally shop at Wally world but hate the fact the stores choose to have giant parking lots that never fill and store fronts and signage that is so out of touch with the local flavor you might as well be driving on route 66 hoping to see bill board!............"buy here"!
I wonder how they come up with the signage/parking lot sizes? if said business is so many square feet then by rule there must be said amount of parking spaces because it's always Christmas at our business and we always are full? or because we are this large you must be able to see our sign from the top of the hill at Sandestin as you travel east? Or maybe from the roof deck at B&A's!
i just think people will find it even if the sign was 3x5 and green!
I personally shop at Wally world but hate the fact the stores choose to have giant parking lots that never fill and store fronts and signage that is so out of touch with the local flavor you might as well be driving on route 66 hoping to see bill board!............"buy here"!
I wonder how they come up with the signage/parking lot sizes? if said business is so many square feet then by rule there must be said amount of parking spaces because it's always Christmas at our business and we always are full? or because we are this large you must be able to see our sign from the top of the hill at Sandestin as you travel east? Or maybe from the roof deck at B&A's!
i just think people will find it even if the sign was 3x5 and green!
I have some friends in ATL who just landscaped a walmart parking lot and grounds in Eufalla. This walmart looks nothing like "walmart". Very nice indeed. Different signage, a smaller lot, and some class. the landscaping involved $300,000 worth of trees alone. Hopefully this is walmart's answer to the possibility of coming here......
nope, don't want it, don't need it
Walmart shops local retailers. So does Target, CVS, Walgreens, Staples, all of them I'm sure they're already comp shopping even the tiny retailers there.
We have a supermarket up here, Wegmans. Wegmans is the ultimate grocery store and makes the nicest Publix look like a Piggly Wiggly. I love Wegmans. I was thrilled when we found out they were coming near here. The store that opened near me is so wonderful! And along with them moving in came a lot more work for me.
Last week I went in (to work) at a local competitor of the Wegmans, about 5 miles away from them. It used to be a lovely mid-sized family-owned grocery chain. When I needed specialty cheeses or bread, that's where I went. When I went in, I was shocked. I hadn't been in for awhile -- I've been going to Wegmans...... Half empty shelves, water loaded up in the dairy section instead of milk, registers that were dismantled. You could feel the depressing death of this store and you could see it on every employee's face. No more flower department. No more cheese case.
I did my work and before I left I asked the woman at customer service if they were closing. She nearly cried. Seriously, she got all teary-eyed. "26 years in this store and look at it now. Wegmans put the nail in our coffin. We haven't gotten the formal notice but when they deliver the big boxes to the back room, you know you're done."
I just saw in the local paper that they are closing February 1st. The 3rd local supermarket to close its doors since Wegmans opened......
She was so sad, and then I got all choked up. This store was so lovely, the people were always so nice. Everybody loved them for their upscale cheeses, flowers, etc. And now the huge superstore Wegmans ate them. Literally, took all their jobs and ate them.
And down will come the bookstore that was next door with the amazing cookbook selection, because next month Barnes and Noble is opening -- next to Wegmans. And then goes the little pet store who makes homebaked doggy biscuits, because PetSmart is next to Barnes and Noble.
So I am sure that within 2 years, this mall will be an emtpy eyesore with just a dollar store, a chinese restaurant and a a bunch of empty stores that nobody will ever open in again, in what was once a cute little country town shopping center. But Wegmans is 10 times bigger, with 10 times the selection and smiling happy employees with Wegmans polo shirts giving customers samples of cheese to try, then buy and put into their cutesy cloth Wegmans shopping bags.
Now I really see Wegmans in a different light, beause of this lady. Yet, after I left her store, I went to Wegmans for lunch, because they have a kickass salad bar with a huge selection.
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I drove past that new Walmart last week. It is true that it doesn't look like the typical Super Walmart because the sign hasn't been erected yet, and the parking lot isn't filled with automobiles, and the isles aren't yet filled with people who are on a mission -- to get the hell out of that gigantic store before they go broke saving money.
It really doesn't matter how shiny and new the store will be when it (Eufaula SuperWalmart) opens in March, because by October, it will start feeling exactly like a (NOT-SO)Super Walmart.
By the way, you can thank lawyers for big stores like Walmart, not having bushes. Criminals can hide behind bushes and commit crimes, and then the store is sued and the victim always wins. Not having decent landscaping reduces their risk.
One last thing, who is going to be moving into the location of the current Walmart in Eufaula? Yep, that's right, no one. Walmart went into a location which was convenient enough for most people in Eufuala, but with no room for expansion. Once they became profitable, they decided to purchase their own property on the outskirts of town, and they will abandon the building in which they currently rent when their lease terminates in March. The only reason they are not already in the new location is due to their lease calling for penalty for early termination.