Clearbrook Wal-Mart plan resurfaces
Looks like the plan for a Wal-Mart in Clearbrook is back. If you’ve missed the story in this morning’s Roanoke Times, here it is.
There’s also a lively conversation going on about the proposed Clearbrook Wal-Mart on business writer Jenny Boone’s retail blog, The Storefront.
September 9, 2008 - 9:19 AM
Wal-Mart apparently adopted its business plan from the Greek Hydra–or possibly Internet pop-up advertisements. As soon as you think it’s dead and gone, it comes back in full force and rears its ugly heads once more.
There is a Wal-Mart right next to Clearbrook on 220. If Wal-Mart so badly wants a Supercenter over here it should extend the store it already has within walking distance of the proposed building site.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
Reed. The walmart that is already on 220 is not owned by them. It is a leased building. I own a route & I have to deliver to that one.This new one will have a better grocery section. So therefore I will sell a lot more plus it ups the value of my route so to others it is a blessing. That route will help take care of my house & get my kids through college.
Gary, Wal-Mart owns their own real estate company. They lease from themselves. If they stopped this childish whine of, “We can’t alter the existing building because we’re leasing it… from ourselves,” and turned the existing Wal-Mart into a “Supercenter” it wouldn’t disrupt my community and your route would still gain value.
They set up this phony leasing system to lower their property taxes and allow them to pay rent to themselves (http://www.realestatejournal.com/reits/20070205-drucker.html) and now we see how that greed affects communities when Wal-Mart decides to leave a hulking shell of a building behind to move a mile down the street to a new monster built across from an elementary school rather than expand their existing store… all because they wanted to save some money on taxes. It’s pathetic and inhuman.