After months of discussions with a landowner and officials in Sparta, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) officials are no longer interested in developing a small-concept store in the rural town.
Wal-Mart Communications Director Anne Hatfield said via email the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has pulled out of those development discussions.
“After careful consideration, we have made a business decision not to pursue our plans to build a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market store in Sparta,” Hatfield said.
Sparta Mayor Mike Younker said this morning he was unaware of Wal-Mart’s decision.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” he said. “It’s disappointing, if it’s true.”
Younker said he last spoke to Wal-Mart officials in November to secure a city liquor license, and FedEx has since delivered packages on behalf of Wal-Mart to Sparta city offices. He also understood the megaretailer had secured development permits through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Department of Transportation.
“For them to cancel, they sure spent a lot of money,” Younker said. “But that’s what big corporations do.”
Wal-Mart officials last year had identified a couple of acres west of the city’s industrial park - at 6629 State Route 14 - as a potential development site for its budding small-store concept, similar to the 12,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market that opened today in nearby Clever. The Christian County towns are about 25 miles apart, on either side of U.S. Highway 65.
Sparta officials last summer annexed 2.28 acres of agriculture-zoned land, owned by local farmer Bob Estep, but Younker said the property never changed hands.
“The land transaction couldn’t take place because there was a dispute over property lines,” Younker said, pointing to a fence line in question. “A fence was 35-foot off the property line.
“In Missouri, fences are golden.”
Sparta farmer Estep has said Wal-Mart attorneys he met with last year verbally agreed to buy his property.
“If they want to miss out on the opportunity, it’s disappointing,” Younker added. “We’ll move on from here and try to inspire some other people to come out this way for business.”[[In-content Ad]]
