UPDATED: Valley View Wal-Mart plans remodel
Remi0o | Wikimedia Commons
UPDATED June 8:
A Wal-Mart spokesman called back this week, and said he’s working on getting us additional information about the remodel. He said the remodel probably won’t start until September. When the spokesman gets back to me with more information, I’ll be sure to share it with you.
End update
One of the things I do to keep up on retail and real estate news is look through building permits filed in Roanoke, Roanoke County, and Salem.
In Roanoke, those permits are found online. Yesterday, I stumbled upon a permit that Wal-Mart has filed seeking the city’s approval to begin $500,000 in renovations to the Valley View store.
Those renovations include cleaning and painting the exterior and interior walls, pharmacy, customer service area, vision center and entry ways, and refurbishing the restrooms and auto center, according to plans submitted to the city. The plans also call for installing new signs and repairing or replacing doors and floor tile.
Further information, such as whether the store will remain open during the work and when the work will start and finish, was not available because Wal-Mart did not immediately return my requests for more information. If I learn more I’ll post an update.
The 207,000 square-foot store was built in 1995.
Plans for Wal-Mart’s remodel comes as the nearby Target store is in the midst of a nearly $1 million renovation. Many readers have said they’ve had trouble finding items in the store and believe the inventory has been scaled back.
Will renovations at Wal-Mart keep you from shopping there while the work is going on? Will the finished improvements make you more likely to shop there?
May 23, 2012 - 11:06 AM
Looks LIKE BUILDING PERMIT APPROVED FOR ABERCOMBIE SPACE. DO WE KNOW WHATS GOING IN YET? BANANNA REPUBLIC/ULTRA??
@Chris: I saw that earlier this month and asked mall manager Louise Dudley about it. She said the lease hasn’t been signed, so she couldn’t comment on which retailer would be taking the space. I’ve also tried calling Banana Republic, but they haven’t responded to my inquiry.
Do you know or could you find out what is going on in the old Blockbuster building on at Lakeside plaza beside Starbucks? Just curious what might be headed there because it would be nice to see that building put to use and not sit empty.
@Brad: I’ll make some calls and see if I can come up with anything.
Hey Amanda, any word about Stake & Shake? I thought they were supposed to start construction already.
@Billy, I talked to the franchisee earlier this week and he told me they were delayed, yet again, and should start within 30 days. Of note is that their building permit, filed last year with the city, has expired, and they have yet to apply for a new one.
Glad VV Walmart is looking for an upgrade – think they need to do more than you listed though. Also, went to Target and was totally unimpressed with the store. Used to love it but not happening any more.
@Natalie: I’m wondering if when/if Walmart gets back to me they’ll have more to say about the remodel. The plans they gave the city were very building-oriented, and Walmart might not have needed to tell the city if they plan to move departments around, bring in new displays, etc. We’ll see!
Even after the remodel I will still avoid that Walmart.
I finally have to comment on Steak & Shake. Don’t get your hopes up it sounds like. We have heard this song before just in a different tune.
One delay after another. Six months now past the original opening date and construction has yet to even start. Now the building permit has expired and they have not filed for another. Hate to say it and I yet may be proved wrong. But I think the writing is on the wall.
It gets old hearing these retailers give the run around.
“Were going to reopen” “there is another delay” “work will start soon”
Then nothing happens and next thing you see is the building up for sale or in the case of Steak & Shake construction never starts.
It seems many of the times a store remodel happens, the finished product is a lot different from the previous store layouts, with the departmental moves, shifts in inventory, etc. I still have a little trouble finding stuff in the Christiansburg Walmart after their remodel, though we shop more regularly at the one by our house in Fairlawn. The nearby Kroger in Fairlawn is in the midst of a renovation. They’ve moved around several of the refrigerated and freezer cases, consolidated the health foods, added U-scan lines, and some other stuff. I also have heard from several people that they will be adding a fuel center in the parking lot…which is sorely needed since it’s a bit of a pain to coordinate fuel trips to either of the ‘burgs to use the fuel points. I’m also hoping it helps pull the gas prices in Fairlawn down a bit…they used to be some of the cheapest in the NRV, but the past 2 or so years they’ve consistently been higher than the ‘burgs, or even the Marathon or BP/Sunoco at Exit 109, amazingly enough.
Does the remodel include armed guards in the parking lot? No? Still not going then.