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Wal-Mart Sounds Bitter After Superstore Defeat Downtown

  • Al Norman
  • July 18, 2014
  • No Comments

On March 10, 2014, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Green Bay, Wisconsin City Council had voted unanimously to classify a site Wal-Mart wanted for a superstore for “downtown use.” This designation limits the size, and the kinds of buildings that can be built on the site.

The Council vote was a sign of support for the work of the city’s Plan Commission, which voted in late January to recommend a ‘mixed use’ project for the city’s downtown. The Commission wanted to preserve the unique historic downtown district and the denser development. The Mayor of Green Bay, Jim Schmitt, has been a consistent supporter of the $23 million Convention Center, and a consistent opponent of the Wal-Mart suburban style superstore.

In the end, Wal-Mart couldn’t muster a single vote for its superstore, but we indicated last March that there was “no doubt the company will come back for a second time with a slightly smaller footprint.”

That’s exactly what it did. But this week, the giant retailer lost again in Green Bay.

On July 16th, anti-Wal-Mart activist Lisa Anderson of the Green Bay group B Local, wrote to Sprawl-Busters:

“Just wanted you to know that we won!! There will be no Wal-Mart big box store in the heart of our downtown. They do have the option to purchase until Aug 25th, but we’re pretty sure they will not come back with a neighborhood market as we’ve asked several times for them to go smaller. But until that date comes and go, we’ll still be on guard.”

WBAY/ABC News in Green Bay reported that the City Council voted 6-5, after more than 5 hours of debate, to deny Wal-Mart’s proposal to build a supercenter on the Larsen Green site in the downtown Broadway District. The vote means the Larsen Green remains classified as “downtown” use, which sets guidelines that a 150,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore does not meet. Wal-Mart did add a residential component to its superstore to make it appear ‘mixed use.’ But its hard to disguise a big box store.

One Councilman told ABC his constituents wanted something with “a different footprint and development density.”

Wal-Mart usually has little to say when they lose such votes, but a spokeswoman for the company sounded decidedly bitter about the outcome:

“We’re disappointed in the decision. It’s a community that’s missing out.”

The retailer even invoked the federal government to try to save face over its defeat: “The City and the USDA have documented a need for affordable groceries and general merchandise in downtown Green Bay. Last night’s vote didn’t change that and didn’t do anything to address the need.”

In a standard script they use in all defeats, Wal-Mart left its options open: “We are committed to our Green Bay customers and will continue to look for opportunities to serve them.”

Readers are urged to email the Mayor of Green Bay at [email protected] with the following message:

“Dear Mayor Schmitt,

Congratulations on winning the city’s 7 months battle with Wal-Mart! A superstore made no sense in your downtown, and your leadership, combined with the resourceful energy of B Local, has sent a message once again to Wal-Mart that one size does not fit all.

Now you will see a more appropriately scaled and design project that your downtown business and residents deserve.

Green Bay can do better than Wal-Mart.”

On March 10, 2014, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Green Bay, Wisconsin City Council had voted unanimously to classify a site Wal-Mart wanted for a superstore for “downtown use.” This designation limits the size, and the kinds of buildings that can be built on the site.

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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.”

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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.