The Overton Park residential/commercial redevelopment project in Lubbock, Texas has been described as “the nation’s largest privately-funded revitalization project”, and residents in Lubbock were distressed to find out recently that Wal-Mart wants to be part of the action. That’s because there is no shortage of Wal-Marts in Lubbock. The city already has two, one on the southwest and the other in the northwest side of town. “By the time (Wal-Mart) made contact with me they had already picked out the particular property that they wanted,” explains Delbert McDougal, the head of the development company building this monstrosity. McDougal swears that a Wal-Mart was not part of his vision for this sprawling property at the beginning, but now he thinks the giant discounter will make a perfect fit. Many residents in Lubbock thinks he’s perfectly wrong. More than 8,000 people will live in Overton Park when it is completed. McDougal told reporters, “there’s really no
shopping when you stop to think about it in that section of town.” Wal-Mart is slated to fit onto 22 acres of land in the development. The project is claiming that Wal-Mart will create 450 new jobs — most, if not all of which will come from existing merchants in Lubbock. The developer says that his Wal-Mart will be unique, because it will have an “upscale exterior architecturally” of brick, and red tile. McDougal has been promoting the project as a magnet for retail development, but has presented no data to support such a claim. “I think they are really setting the stage for others that might want to come down there but didn’t want to make the first step,” he notes. The Wal-Mart is slated for construction early next year — but the developer has not considered what might happen if the residents of Lubbock organize and challenge this project. If a project of this scale is approved, Overton Park will be over the top for many residents in the city. Already residents are upset, and are beginning to seek help to stop this project.
Developers love to tell local residents that THIS Wal-Mart will be special or unqiue — not like those others you see along the highway. Why anyone in their right mind would buy a home in a development near a Wal-Mart is beyond me. In cases we’ve looked at, residential homes have lost considerable value just by being located near a Wal-Mart supercenter. For more details, see the book “The Case Against Wal-Mart” on this website. For local contacts in Lubbock, email [email protected]
