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

Wal-Mart “Disappointed” by Rejection.

  • Al Norman
  • February 5, 2006
  • No Comments

Another community has sent Wal-Mart packing. If Wal-Mart wants to build in Hercules, California, a suburb 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, they’re going to have to come up with a Plan B. City staff in Hercules shot down Wal-Mart’s Plan A, which was to build a 142,000 s.f. store on 17 acres of land they own as part of the Bayside Marketplace development. The giant retailer said it now has to “reevaluate its options” in response to the city report that a big box store was not “in substantial compliance” with initial development plans negotiated by city and Wal-Mart officials. “Wal-Mart is obviously disappointed by staff’s recommendation, and while we might not agree with their conclusions it seems prudent to withdraw the application in order to reevaluate our options,” said Wal-Mart’s regional manager of public affairs. “We are 100 percent committed to this site and want to take whatever time necessary to assess the city’s comments.” The Wal-Mart store would have been part of a larger Bayside Project, a mixed use project on the city’s waterfront. City officials charged that the inappropriately located store would draw heavy traffic, and force smaller businesses out of the area. They noted that the original development plan for this site called for a retail center 45% of the size Wal-Mart proposed. The city’s staff report said Wal-Mart would “adversely influence the types of tenants” nearby.

The idea of a Wal-Mart on any city’s waterfront is so absurd, that one has to wonder what took city officials so long to reject this. The city had agreed to a 64,000 s.f. store, but Wal-Mart ignored that limit, and came in with a monster of a store. I recall the same type of store proposed for the waterfront in Eureka, California, where voters rejected the idea of a big box on the water. Such scenic areas make little sense for a big box store, but Wal-Mart continues to push such plans on cities, which increasingly push back. The result? Wal-Mart has wasted several months, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of shareholder’s money pursuing a bad real estate gamble. Citizen opposition helped enormously in pushing this enormous project off the map. Wal-Mart says they will be back, and you can be sure it won’t be at 64,000 s.f. So residents have won round one, but must remain vigilant for round two.

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
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
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

Facebook testing encrypted chat backups – CNBC

September 14, 2022

Facebook is shutting down its live shopping feature on October 1 – TechCrunch

September 14, 2022

Introducing Home and Feeds on Facebook – Facebook

September 14, 2022

Facebook to allow up to five profiles tied to one account – Reuters

September 14, 2022

Facebook tells managers to identify low performers in memo – The Washington Post

September 14, 2022

Meta is dumping Facebook logins as its metaverse ID system – TechCrunch

September 14, 2022

Introducing Features to Quickly Find and Connect with Facebook Groups – Facebook

September 14, 2022

Facebook plans ‘discovery engine’ feed change to compete with TikTok – The Verge

September 14, 2022

Wow, Facebook really knows how to give someone a send-off! – TechCrunch

September 14, 2022

Here’s What You Need to Know About Our Updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service – Facebook

September 14, 2022

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 7 months ago

WALGREENS IN S.F. “dispensed hundreds of thousands of red flag opioid prescriptions without performing adequate due diligence... did not provide its pharmacists with sufficient time, staffing, or resources to perform due diligence.” https://t.co/9xfErPKSpA

Read More
Al Norman 7 months ago

LOLLIPOP MAKER TAKES A LICKING FROM SELLERS ON AMAZON, WHO BUY DUM DUMS FROM SAM’S CLUB, re-sell them on AMZN for a sweet profit. “Amazon is too big to listen to anyone,” says candy-maker. His company has lost millions. https://t.co/40xvVEozAX

Read More
Al Norman 7 months ago

AMAZON GIVES ITS BRITISH WORKERS A 42 CENTS/HR RAISE. “Hundreds of workers at...warehouses have been holding protests...Working conditions are horrible. We are always working under pressure...Managers treat staff like slaves. It's stressful..."  

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.