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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. After years of speculation, a Wal-Mart Supercenter is finally moving to Independence Boulevard – a move hailed as a critical step for spurring the eastside's economic comeback.
The retail giant has bought the mostly vacant Amity Gardens Shopping Center, the developer said Tuesday. Wal-Mart plans to open a 155,000-square-foot center, on Independence between Eastway and Albemarle roads, in the first quarter of 2011.
Wal-Mart Stores East LP purchased more than 18 acres from Faison-Amity Gardens LLC for about $6.75 million, according to the deed filed with the county. The company has said the Supercenter, which combines general merchandise and a full grocery department, would replace its store on Eastway Drive and employ 400 workers.
“I'm just dancing in relief,” Charlotte City councilwoman Nancy Carter said when told of the news by the Observer. Carter, who represents east Charlotte, has been pushing for the store for four years.
“I am thrilled to the point of tears,” she said. “This is the beginning for Independence.”
Some retail analysts, however, say the presence of a Wal-Mart alone won't fuel the area's recovery.
For years, city and community leaders have seen the development of the area as an important piece to revitalizing east Charlotte, which has suffered from retail flight during a decade-long road-widening project. Once a bustling commercial boulevard, a swath of Independence close to uptown now attracts the homeless, who live in trailers behind several closed shopping centers. Many of the hotels still operating have become crime magnets.
Wal-Mart announced its intention to open a Supercenter at the intersection of Independence and Pierson Drive about four years ago. But the project stalled partly because of environmental problems stemming from chemical spills left behind by a dry cleaning business. Another stumbling block was slow negotiations with Harbor Freight Tools, which had a long-term lease for space and wouldn't move.
Wal-Mart has signed a brownfield agreement with the state that the retailer will pay for the clean-up. In return, Wal-Mart will become eligible for a reduction in property taxes for the first three years after construction is completed, said Tom Flynn, Charlotte's director of economic development. Harbor Freight Tools will relocate, Flynn said.
The retailer also successfully pushed to reduce a 20-year-old city setback rule restricting construction work within 175 feet of Independence Boulevard's center.
“The redevelopment of this property encountered numerous development obstacles,” said Bill Barnett, managing director with Faison Enterprises Inc. “We are pleased to have completed this transaction with Wal-Mart, which will serve as a catalyst for future development along the Independence corridor and serve East Charlotte residents.”
Faison was represented by Malcolm McLean and Darren Wood of the Providence Group.
Real estate analyst Kathleen Rose said the Supercenter will provide much-needed jobs and services. But the new store will also provide competition in the city's efforts to revitalize the nearby Central Avenue corridor, particularly Eastland Mall, she said.
As such, the Supercenter's ability to spur other commercial development may be limited.
“Given its location, the new Wal-Mart will function more as an island than an anchor in that regard,” she said.
The world's largest retailer has targeted North Carolina as a hot expansion market because of population and income growth. With about 100 N.C. stores and 53,000 workers, Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer. Before the year is out, the company will have opened six new stores across the state and upgraded six smaller ones to Supercenters.
Flynn said the Wal-Mart development will remove “a real blighting influence” and “bring people back to shopping” on Independence. He doesn't think the store will hurt revitalization efforts elsewhere, because “this is highway retail,” he said. “It's somewhat of a different market.”
Diane Langevin, who has lived in east Charlotte for about 47 years, watched the large swath of Independence Boulevard descend from vibrant business district to blight and empty storefronts.
News of the Wal-Mart opening has bolstered hopes of a revival, she said.
“I love my Wal-Mart,” said Langevin, president of the Winterfield Neighborhood Association. “It will be great. That area is so dead.”
For years, eastside residents have complained that city government has ignored it problems. They claim city leaders have failed to lure business to the area and prevent a concentration of government-subsidized housing.
Langevin said the city deserves credit for a “baby step,” but added “I hope they don't just throw us this doggie bone.”
Retailer Jon Pietras once leased space in the Coliseum Shopping Center, another nearly vacant shopping center adjacent to Amity Gardens. He said he and his store, Infinity's End, tried to stick it out, hoping the area would recover, “but we were like a little island there, there was no traffic coming through.”
His store relocated next to a DMV office farther down Independence two years ago. Business is much better, he said.
Still, “I wish Wal-Mart would have done it when they talked about it three years ago,” he said. “We would have stuck around. But we waited and we waited.” Staff writer Fred Clausen-Kelly contributed.
