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 Withdrawal Squeezes Another City

  • Al Norman
  • April 3, 2008
  • No Comments

Wal-Mart tried to squeeze too much into Port Orange, Florida, and now their departure is putting the squeeze on the city. Port Orange, population 56,000, already has a Wal-Mart supercenter on Dunlawton Avenue. For a city this size, that one supercenter is adequate. There’s another Wal-Mart supercenter just over 3 miles away in Daytona Beach. So the trade area is not deprived of cheap, Chinese imports. So it was not a great loss to the economy this week when the Daytona Beach News-Journal announced that corporate headquarters in Arkansas had pulled the plug on the 46th Wal-Mart supercenter project since last June. That’s when Wal-Mart stunned many shareholders at its Annual Meeting by announcing a major cutback in its new store growth plans. That announcement has now squeezed a superstore out of Port Orange. The news was left to Port Orange Mayor Allen Green to announce. “The (Wal-Mart) board made a decision it’s not in their best interest to pursue it,” the Mayor said. “They did not say definitely what they’re going to do.” Thus ends two years of work on the part of the city. And then the Mayor added, “They were trying to fit way too much on that piece of property.” On March 26 Wal-Mart sent a note to the city asking that their the site plan applications be sent back to the city’s Planning Commission. “We continue to examine various options for addressing the City’s concerns, and we are now in the process of significantly revising the proposed development plans,” the letter states. The original 128,000 s.f. superstore appears to be dead, because a company spokesman said that Wal-Mart might put a Neighborhood Market in the city instead, which would be ‘only’ 53,000 s.f. — less than half the size of the superstore. The supercenter squeeze was great news for local residents who had fought the 24/7 superstore. Residents said such a store would increase crime in the area. Port Orange’s Director of Community Development told the News-Journal that the plans for the area now include much smaller stores. “It’s a major change to go to a smaller store with out-parcels,” he said. “It’s almost like going back to the drawing board.” Wal-Mart has pulled its superstore plans, but is not promising anything firm in its place — or even any timetable. “At this point we don’t have a date,” a company representative said.

Port Orange is just one more victim of Wal-Mart’s nation-wide squeeze play. On June 1, 2007, Wal-Mart announced it would do an internal review on planned stores throughout the nation. “We’ve been looking at sites across the country making sure we are growing in the right way,” Wal-Mart told the News-Journal. “This change is a part of that review.” This gives the city of Port Orange a chance to ask the same question: “Are we growing in the right way?” Or, as one Mayor once said to Sprawl-Busters: “It’s not how big you grow, but how you grow big.” Port Orange describes itself as a community that “blends beauty and opportunity… From its tree-lined streets to its parks.” In fact, Port Orange defines itself as “150 distinct neighborhoods.” The city has been operating under a Vision Statement prepared 10 years ago, which boasts of “a premier, unique, accessible, safe, and innovative city.” Readers are urged to email Port Orange Mayor Allen Green at [email protected] with the following message: “Mayor Green, Wal-Mart has left Port Orange at the altar. The retailer said it was ‘making sure we are growing in the right way.’ The city should ask itself the same question. You take pride in the fact that Port Orange is unique and innovative, ‘where people feel at home and experience a sense of community.’ Does another huge supercenter make sense in such a community? Would it be more consistent with your efforts to redevelop your Town Center and marina, to adopt a cap on the size of retail buildings, and make companies like Wal-Mart fit into Port Orange — and not the reverse. A cap of 75,000 s.f. makes more sense for your future than suburban sprawl. The superstore cancellation is a super opportunity to engage in some thoughtful planning. One giant supercenter in Port Orange, is one more than enough. Don’t let Wal-Mart squeeze Port Orange again.”

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 17 hours ago

WALMART/WESTERN UNION DEAL HOPES TO GIVE PEOPLE WITH NO BANK ACCOUNT 1 MORE REASON TO SHOP AT WMT, which has been trying offer more bank-like services for decades. https://t.co/iItM487evw

Read More
Al Norman 18 hours ago

AMZN PLANS TO RENT A 91,000 SF WAREHOUSE AT THE EAST END OF LONG ISLAND. AMZN developer got a $2.3 M tax break. Welfare for billionaires. https://t.co/L39PIY4MTk

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

HOME DEPOT SHAREHOLDERS SEEK AN INVESTIGATION OF WHETHER THE COMPANY’S SOCIAL MEDIA ADS ARE SUPPORTING WHITE SUPREMACISTS & OTHER HATE GROUPS. “We never intend for our ads to end up on sites that promote hate or misinformation,” HD says. https://t.co/zXdB8vhe8f

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.