Construction Around Town: Wal-Mart Supercenter

The Wal-Mart Supercenter at highways 60 and 174 in Republic is scheduled to open Sept. 18, according to Bob Paulson, manager of the existing Republic Wal-Mart and future Supercenter manager.

Crossland Construction is the general contractor for the 158,000-square-foot supercenter, and the whole development includes a Murphy's gas station, a restaurant and a strip center that is already leased out, Paulson said.

The store will initially employ 350.

The project is the result of a developer agreement with the city of Republic. The agreement provided for the city to rebate up to $500,000 to Wal-Mart for site improvements and stormwater improvements. The agreement also provided for a police substation on site and a utility payment drop-off inside the store. Wal-Mart will donate part of the 28-acre site for a greenways trail financed by a $100,000 grant to the city.

The project has been a long time in coming, according to Republic City Administrator Dean Thompson. Wal-Mart looked at developing the store in 1996, but it didn't actually purchase the site until 1999.