There are roughly 2,970 Wal-Marts and Sam’s Clubs in the United States. To our knowledge there is only one Wal-Mart that has more than one floor to it. This has long been a criticism of the company by activists who say the store wastes tens of thousands of acres every year by insisting on a low, long, sprawling one-floor, windowless box. Now Wal-Mart is boasting that it is taking a 150,000 s.f. building that once housed a Macy’s in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, and renovating it to become Wal-Mart’s first store in central city L.A. — and perhaps only the second Wal-Mart store ever to have a second floor. The company deserves credit for taking this move — even its only the exception to the rule.
When Wal-Mart comes to your town with a site plan rendering of a one level store, remind them of their Macy’s renovation project in Los Angeles. It just goes to show that even Wal-Mart can learn to operate a store with escalators. Ask them to put their store on two floors in your town, and cut the footprint in half by doing so. This will save land,reduce sprawl, and recyle a building. Give Wal-Mart a list of empty stores in your community and urge them to fill-in instead of spread out. Baldwin Hills demonstrates that big box retailers can be trained to be compatible with the surrounding community.
