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Business News
Blue Springs, MO —
Attention Blue Springs Walmart shoppers – you may be getting another store in town.
Planning commission members passed three different proposals Monday night that, should City Council approve them, will pave the way for a Neighborhood Walmart, a scaled down version of the larger, more traditional stores.
The new store would be located on the corner of Duncan Road and North Missouri 7. It would be approximately 41,000 square feet, which is about 50,000 square feet less than a traditional store, one of which is located on Coronado Drive near Adams Dairy Parkway.
The new store would sit on approximately 4.2 acres. Walmart has owned the property for about three years, according to Mark Bryant, an attorney representing the company.
“This project has been in the planning stages for some time,” Bryant said, adding that Walmart owns another parcel in town but has not committed to it yet.
Speculation has been afoot for years that Walmart will build a large store in the south end of town, and Scott Allen, director of the Community Development Department, said that, as far as he knows, it’s still a possibility.
However, four commission members – James Wallace, Mark Trosen, Phil Bartolotta and Joe Haney – voted against the three proposals, which were the site plan/design review, preliminary plat and final plat.
Their concerns were focused on a proposed above-ground stormwater retention area, located on the corner area of Missouri 7 and Duncan Road.
Trosen was the most vocal about the issue, showing concern that heavy rains could compromise the system and that, at least visually, the retention area would not be pleasing to the eye.
An engineer for the project said he had studied all possibilities. He concluded that the above-ground retention area, in addition to being built for a 100-year storm, was the best option because of the added expense for a below-ground system and geographic concerns, specifically the challenge of grading the property to accommodate a below-ground system.
Bryant echoed the engineer’s points, saying that the cost would be considerable for Walmart and that the company was not committed to incurring the expense.
Bartolotta expressed concern about the wall that would partially enclose the retention area, asking if children could fall off of it. The engineer said it was possible that could happen, but that land was raised in most spots.
Jim Holley, assistant director for community development, said underground stormwater retention systems are the preferred systems to be used on Missouri 7 and throughout the city in general, but in this case “the grading will not allow it.”
City attorney Bob McDonald said Walmart has followed the city code addressing stormwater retention systems and that “we don’t have the authority to make them place it underground.”
Attention Blue Springs Walmart shoppers – you may be getting another store in town.
Planning commission members passed three different proposals Monday night that, should City Council approve them, will pave the way for a Neighborhood Walmart, a scaled down version of the larger, more traditional stores.
The new store would be located on the corner of Duncan Road and North Missouri 7. It would be approximately 41,000 square feet, which is about 50,000 square feet less than a traditional store, one of which is located on Coronado Drive near Adams Dairy Parkway.
The new store would sit on approximately 4.2 acres. Walmart has owned the property for about three years, according to Mark Bryant, an attorney representing the company.
“This project has been in the planning stages for some time,” Bryant said, adding that Walmart owns another parcel in town but has not committed to it yet.
Speculation has been afoot for years that Walmart will build a large store in the south end of town, and Scott Allen, director of the Community Development Department, said that, as far as he knows, it’s still a possibility.
However, four commission members – James Wallace, Mark Trosen, Phil Bartolotta and Joe Haney – voted against the three proposals, which were the site plan/design review, preliminary plat and final plat.
Their concerns were focused on a proposed above-ground stormwater retention area, located on the corner area of Missouri 7 and Duncan Road.
Trosen was the most vocal about the issue, showing concern that heavy rains could compromise the system and that, at least visually, the retention area would not be pleasing to the eye.
An engineer for the project said he had studied all possibilities. He concluded that the above-ground retention area, in addition to being built for a 100-year storm, was the best option because of the added expense for a below-ground system and geographic concerns, specifically the challenge of grading the property to accommodate a below-ground system.
Bryant echoed the engineer’s points, saying that the cost would be considerable for Walmart and that the company was not committed to incurring the expense.
Bartolotta expressed concern about the wall that would partially enclose the retention area, asking if children could fall off of it. The engineer said it was possible that could happen, but that land was raised in most spots.
Jim Holley, assistant director for community development, said underground stormwater retention systems are the preferred systems to be used on Missouri 7 and throughout the city in general, but in this case “the grading will not allow it.”
City attorney Bob McDonald said Walmart has followed the city code addressing stormwater retention systems and that “we don’t have the authority to make them place it underground.”
