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 Locates Superstore Across Street From Its Dead Store

  • Al Norman
  • December 9, 2009
  • No Comments

If you’ve got $4.95 million to invest, you could be the proud owner of a Wal-Mart cast off store on roughly 20 acres of concrete in Port Angeles, Washington. Port Angeles is on the North Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, and is 18 miles south of Vancouver Island. Wal-Mart store #2196 is located at 3500 Route 101. The building was constructed in 1996, and then remodeled in 2003. But now this ‘old’ store — more than twice the size of a football field — has to go. Wal-Mart has hired Houston, Texas Realtor CB Richard Ellis to sell the store — one of two dead stores the retailer has in Washington State. Wal-Mart is selling the store for just over $38 per square foot. It’s 390′ wide by 300′ deep, and could pose a problem for the city, because not too many businesses need a store that huge. Wal-Mart plans to empty out this store by the fall of 2010, to move its business just across Highway 101 to a new location, where it will open up a superstore. According to the Penninsula Daily News, Clallam County officials created this blatantly wasteful use of resources by granting Wal-Mart a construction permit to create leap frog sprawl. The story is even more twisted, because the site for the new Wal-Mart supercenter is on the location of a dead Kmart that went under when Wal-Mart first came to Port Angeles. In order to build their new superstore, Wal-Mart had to get a demolition permit from the county to tear down the store of its former rival. The county no doubt was thrilled to find someone that would tear down the smaller Kmart store, which has been vacant for the past 12 years. Naturally, county and city officials are praying that the ‘old’ Wal-Mart will not sit abandoned for a dozen years — but Port Angeles officials seemed to have learned nothing from their ‘dark store’ experiences with big box chain stores. So the Kmart will be torn down, and another dead store will rise across the street. Eventually someone in the city will get the idea of asking developers to put up a demolition bond in escrow to pay for the cost of pulling these wasted boxes down if they sit empty for 12 consecutive months. Maybe Richard Ellis will find some buyer with $5 million to burn — but in this economy, it’s a safe bet that Port Angeles will be looking at a dead Wal-Mart for quite some time.

The land where Wal-Mart will soon begin building this superfluous superstore is actually located in unincorporated Clallam County, outside of the city limits for Port Angeles. The contractors for the store will be meeting with county permitting officials this week, according to the Penninsula News. “That isn’t required,” explained a county official, “but it is their due diligence to make sure they understand all of the terms of the permits.” The store will take 10 to 12 months to build, so Wal-Mart Realty has a year to unload their existing building, which is already listed as a “new” property on its lengthy website. Wal-Mart apparently told local officials that the new superstore would bring 300 jobs to the area, but first the retailer has to transfer all its existing employees across the street to work at the new store. But that is where most of the “new” jobs will be coming from. The county bent over backwards to give Wal-Mart whatever it needed to create a dead store. The county consolidated 8 lots into 2 in order to make this project work for Wal-Mart. The city is also lending a hand. This project could never have happened without the city hooking the new store up to a sewer line. Because the city and the county both had to help Wal-Mart out, the city and the county have entered into a revenue sharing agreement to split any increase in sales tax revenue once the superstore opens. And the city also agreed that it will not attempt to annex land along the Highway 101 corridor up to the Wal-Mart for another five years. But after that, the city could attempt to annex all this land into its borders, and take the sales tax that comes with it. But first, the city and the county want to see their dead Wal-Mart filled. None of this needed to happen, because the county could have insisted that Wal-Mart simply convert its existing store into a superstore. No permits would have been needed, no new empty stores would have been created. But if you’d like to make an offer on the building, or to have a property viewing, email CB Richard Ellis broker Cody Persyn at [email protected] If you wait long enough, you might be able to get this 13 year old Wal-Mart at a very low everyday price. Make them an offer. But be advised: according to the Terms and Conditions of the sale, this property will be sold on an “as-is, where is, with all faults” basis — kind of like the deal Wal-Mart offers most communities when it is seeking their permitting support.

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 5 hours ago

TODAY the SBA opens an exclusive 14-day application period for PPP loans for biz/nonprofits with < 20 workers. Sole proprietors, indie contractors, & self-employed can apply. $15 B set-aside for small, low & moderate income biz. Must apply by 3/31/21. https://t.co/73uM2cmZY7

Read More
Al Norman 12 hours ago

IN 2020, WMT had $520 B in sales, & made $15.2B in profit. On $386 B in sales, AMZN made $21 B in profit. WMT sells 1/3rd more, but AMZN makes nearly 2x the % of profits. This is why WMT wants to diversify beyond low-margin groceries. https://t.co/ifYAth70LF

Read More
Al Norman 12 hours ago

SUSPECTED shoplifter shot inside a San Antonio Walmart. “I’m not going to come back here again. You never know when your last day is, just stay home, it’s better. If you need it that bad, get it delivered.” https://t.co/i7eFNhyyWL

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.