[Email address: //allandalereporter #AT# yahoo.com - replace #AT# with @ ]Tom Linehan [Email address: allandalereporter #AT# yahoo.com - replace #AT# with @ ]
Construction on the new Wal-Mart at Northcross will get underway by end of year and completed in late summer 2010. According to Trey Salinas,
spokesperson for Wal-Mart in Austin, it will be the first of its kind
in Texas. What follows is a Q&A I had with Trey via email:
TL: Last I heard, the Wal-Mart going
in at Northcross was going to be 99,000 sf. Is that still the plan?
Trey: The Northcross store will be
97,915 sf.
TL: Do you have an elevation of the
planned store you can share with us?
Trey: We should have a final
rendering/elevation in the next couple of weeks. As soon as it is
ready I will get it to you.
TL: Can you tell me how the allocation
of the space will be split between grocery and general merchandise?
Trey: The current design has the
grocery at around 23,800 sf. 24% of total building.
TL: What will the hours of operation
be?
Trey: Open every day except between
the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Extended store hours during seasonal events such as
Thanksgiving – Christmas holiday season and sales tax-free weekend. Option to
offer extended hours to match store hours of retail competitors over 45,000sf within 2
mile radius of Store.
TL: What is the timeline? When will
you start construction and when will it open?
Trey: Construction starts late summer
of 2009. Opens late summer 2010.
TL: How will the store compare with
other Wal-Marts of similar size elsewhere in the country?
Trey: The design of the Northcross
store is a first of its kind in Texas. It is a new prototype store
for Wal-Mart. There may be similar stores built in the future in
Texas and across the country.
TL: Should the neighborhood be
concerned about traffic flow once the store opens?
Trey: No. Wal-Mart has worked
diligently with City staff and others regarding traffic. In addition,
we have already paid $130,000 for our share of traffic improvements
per City requirements.
TL: Will the store be detached from
the rest of the Northcross Mall?
Trey: Yes
TL: Should people be concerned about
delivery trucks to and from the store?
Trey: No. Wal-Mart 18-wheelers will
have prescribed routes for ingress and egress to and from the Store
which will avoid neighborhood streets.
TL: What about landscaping around the
store. What can you tell us about that?
Trey: Tom, trying to find more info on
this for you but for sure I can tell you that there will be more
trees provided than are required by current City code; and the trees
provided will be larger that what is required by current City code.
Has construction started? If not, what is construction on west side of area?
Cap Metro and WalMart have an agreement about allowing buses onto site.
There won’t be a parking structure.
The construction on the west side is Lincoln Property’s final retail building. It is shown in the original site plan.
WalMart is the size RG4N wanted it and people still have problems Jeeze!