Walmart plans lag

Walmart plans still need tweaking, city says

 A Walmart Supercenter slated for Alachua has been bandied about for about the last half-decade.  But the latest news on the project will likely leave many scratching their heads.

In March, the world’s largest retailer submitted a revised site plan to the City of Alachua’s Development Review Team.  That revised plan came after City officials provided feedback with concerns about the previously submitted plan.

Shortly after the March submission, a Walmart spokeswoman, Michelle Belaire, said the company hoped to have final approvals from the City of Alachua in the next three months.  It’s doubtful that will happen since the City of Alachua has yet against returned the plans to the mega retailer.

To discuss the submitted plans, the City’s Development Review Team held a meeting with Walmart recently, Alachua City Manager Traci Cain said.

“At that meeting staff provided comments related to the application’s consistency with the Land Development Regulations.

“We are now waiting for the applicant to address the comments and resubmit the plans,” said Cain.

City officials said they didn’t know how long Walmart would take to resubmit a yet again revised plan.

After the Development Review Team completes its evaluation, the plans must be reviewed by the City’s Planning and Zoning board and then the City Commission before permits to build can be issued.

Once the site is approved, Walmart said it would begin a bidding process for Florida-based general contractors, a process which will take another three or four months. Once construction begins, the store should be open in about one year.

Situated just south of the intersection of I-75 and US 441, the proposed store would be about 155,000 square feet and would include a drive-

through pharmacy and garden center. The store will also have tenant space available for other retailers, but the tenants have yet to be determined.