Skip to content
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]
  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, Massachusetts
Search
Close
Sprawl-busters
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
  • Uncategorized

No One Wants To Be Wal-Mart’s Neighbor

  • Al Norman
  • August 11, 2007
  • No Comments

The next step for Wal-Mart may be to place an ad on e-harmony, looking for someone compatible. Until then, the retail giant has told city officials in North Lauderdale, Florida, that no one wants to be their neighbor. Wal-Mart claims that they have had no luck in locating any tenants who want to move into their shopping center at the 43 acre former U-Pick farm on McNab Road. But the company is not blaming it’s own reputation as a retail killer — it’s saying the neighborhood isn’t very attractive. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, city officials were not too pleased to hear Wal-Mart say “nobody wants to come to North Lauderdale, and we’ve tried everything we can.” Wal-Mart was supposed to serve as the anchor retailer in a “Town Center” destination site — which is a bad concept to begin with. Any community that places Wal-Mart as its town center, has no center, and no vision. The Town Center was supposed to have a 208,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore, plus an 80 room hotel to look out onto the big box, restaurants, and another 36,000 s.f. of retailers. The city says Wal-Mart signed an agreement that placed the burden on the retailer to find tenants to round out the project. According to the website promoting this development, “The Commons at North Lauderdale featuring a 208,000 square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter has been uniquely designed with a main boulevard entrance flanked by extensive landscaping with towering palms and nine (9) freestanding restaurant and retail buildings. The entrance will feature three (3) lakes with fountains, a paved stone roundabout and each building will have outdoor seating areas. There will be a seasonal outdoor farmers market operated by Wal-Mart and an “Art In Public Place” sculpture exhibited by Wyland as well as project identification banners and a transit bus bay along McNab Road.” Now, North Lauderdale officials are worried that instead of a “The Commons” they’re going to wind up with just a common big box. Mayor Jack Brady shifted into emergency mode, convening a special City Commission meeting to hear first-hand why nothing is happening at the appropriately named U-Pick site. “Let them come in,” the Mayor said about Wal-Mart. “I want to hear this … face to face. I want them to look at me in my face.” But the Mayor is going to be as lonely as the U-Pick site, because a Wal-Mart spokesman said “no one in our Wal-Mart corporate office was notified nor invited to attend.” Wal-Mart now wants to get going on their building, despite the lack of other tenants, but Mayor Brady is not giving up his dream. “A lot of people have been waiting for this. I’m not selling out,” Brady told the newspaper. One city official said that Wal-Mart was trying to strong-arm the city. “They called me to flex some muscle that they are Wal-Mart and they can do whatever they want,” the official said. The Sun-Sentinel described city officials as being “exasperated.” Commissioner John Cangemi, who represents citizens in the district where Wal-Mart will locate, said he had been trying to lure restaurants to the site as well. “You have no idea how much I’ve put into this,” he said. “I’m just very disgruntled about this because I promised residents in my district there would be something soon.”

City officials in North Lauderdale have delivered a Wal-Mart Town Center and nothing else — which was about as difficult as falling off a truck. The towering palms and freestanding restaurants have evaporated in the North Lauderdale sun. But don’t worry about the shoppers of North Lauderdale. The Mayor’s constituents already have a Wal-Mart discount store on West McNab road, plus 9 other Wal-Marts within 10 miles, including a supercenter 2 miles away in Margate, and supercenters 4-5 miles away in Lauderdale Lakes, Coral Springs, and Pompano Beach. Now’s the perfect time to call Mayor Jack Brady at 954 724-7056 or e-mail him at: [email protected] Tell the Mayor to “forget the towering palm trees, rip up the agreement with Wal-Mart, before you end up with just a huge big box store, and a banner that reads, ‘Brady’s Folly.’ North Lauderdale shoppers already have plenty of opportunities to visit Wal-Marts.”

Like this article?

Share on facebook
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on Linkdin
Share on pinterest
Share on Pinterest
Al Norman

Al Norman

Al Norman first achieved national attention in October of 1993 when he successfully stopped Wal-Mart from locating in his hometown of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Almost 3 decades later they is still not Wal-Mart in Greenfield. Norman has appeared on 60 Minutes, was featured in three films, wrote 3 books about Wal-Mart, and gained widespread media attention from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune magazine. Al has traveled throughout the U.S., Barbados, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Japan, helping dozens of local coalitions fight off unwanted sprawl development. 60 Minutes called Al “the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement.”

Leave a comment

Find Us

  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, MA
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]

Helpful Links

  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Menu
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

CHRISTIAN SMALLS, FIRED AMZN WAREHOUSE WORKER, FILES RACE DISCRIMATION LAWSUIT. …

November 16, 2020

DUE TO THE SURGE IN CORONA CASES, WMT IS LIMITING SHOPPERS TO 5 PER 1,000 SF. A…

November 16, 2020

AMAZON RECENTLY ANNOUNCED FREE 1 HOUR GROCERY PICK UP FOR PRIME MEMBER ORDERS &g…

November 15, 2020

AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE DEERFIELD, MA PLANNING BOARD, DOLLAR GENERAL APPEALS…

November 15, 2020

WILL TRUMP ALLOW ORACLE & WALMART TO INVEST IN TIK TOK? The deadline to ban …

November 14, 2020

AMAZON ACCUSED OF BREAKING ANTITRUST RULES IN EUROPE. “Data of 3rd-party sellers…

November 14, 2020

WALMART PET CARE NOW SELLING PET INSURANCE. My 3 year old mixed breed cat would …

November 13, 2020

WALMART’S GOING TO THE DOGS. 90 M OF ITS CUSTOMERS HAVE DOGS. You’d be Goofy not…

November 13, 2020

WALMART CASHIERS STILL LOOKING FOR A SEAT. They won a $65 M lawsuit in 2019, but…

November 12, 2020

4 DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,THE CO-FOUNDER OF HOME DEPOT SAID: “Pres…

November 12, 2020

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 17 hours ago

20 Y.O. WOMAN IN LA. ON VALENTINE’S DAY KILLS FATHER OF HER CHILD WHILE HE WORKS AT WALMART, the most dangerous place in America to shop. https://t.co/dLqWpK365L

Read More
Al Norman 18 hours ago

ARGUMENT OVER VIDEO GAME AT PA. WMT LEADS TO SHOT FIRED AT EMPLOYEE. WMT allows people to bring guns into store Instead of checking them. Police spend thousands of hours there every year—at taxpayer’s expense. https://t.co/T3h2zju1Fj

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

AMAZON FILES PRE-PREEMPTIVE LAWSUIT AGAINST NY ATTY. GEN. who is investigating AMZN over Covid worker safety issues. AG also wants warehouse worker productivity goals lowered. https://t.co/yNdfdzlXR1

Read More

Ⓒ 2020 - All Rights Are Reserved

Design and Development by Just Peachy Web Design

Download Our Free Guide

Download our Free Guide

Learn How To Stop Big Box Stores And Fulfillment Warehouses In Your Community

The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.

Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.