Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260097
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
After taking the winter off, Wal-Mart's engineers recently put the final touches on their site plan, which shows a variety of the shopping center's features, ranging from its sewer connections to the trees and plants it will have. Town approval for the plan came last Friday, and grading work at the site began that afternoon.
Still to come is a building permit from the town. That won't happen until Wal-Mart requests the permit and pays necessary fees, something the Bentonville, Ark.-based corporation has not yet done, said Lance Terpenny, assistant town manager.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said he would have no information until all the permits have been issued.
The proposal came to light a year ago when local developer Bill Matthews asked the town to rezone the property for commercial use, which Town Council did in June 1994. In August, the first site plans appeared in town offices, bearing the name "Wal-Mart."
Also included with the site plan was a traffic report in which engineers estimated as many as 7,000 cars a day could visit the superstore, which will be open 24 hours a day.
Court records show Wal-Mart bought the 27 acres in October for $5.4 million, or $200,000 per acre. The land had been assessed for $1.7 million earlier that year.
Wal-Mart let the site plan lie fallow during the winter. Town officials were not surprised. It's often more expensive to begin construction during the cold, wet weather, they said, and they added that they expected the plan to be finalized in the spring.
The superstore will be of a similar size to one under construction in Roanoke. Both will feature a grocery store and pharmacy along with the chain's standard line of discount merchandise.
by CNB