Wal-Mart land acquisition pending rezoning

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. appears to be working toward building a fifth Neighborhood Market in Springfield at Grand Street and Campbell Avenue.

Wal-Mart officials have reached an agreement to purchase land from Life360 Church near the intersection, according to church staff. Life360 Calvary Campus secretary Carol Kline said the deal is pending city rezoning, and a first reading on the Wal-Mart plans is tentatively scheduled Jan. 14, according to a six-month City Council calendar at SpringfieldMo.gov.

Life360 officials and five residential property owners behind the church on Normal Street are seeking to rezone the land to general retail with a conditional overlay district from residential high density and residential single family, according to an application submitted Oct. 29 to the city's Department of Planning and Development.

According to a traffic impact study in the application, the zoning would make way for a roughly 40,000-square-foot grocery store on 4.3 acres.

Neither Wal-Mart Stores spokesman Dan Morales nor Life360 Calvary Campus Pastor Tom Cederblom could be reached for comment by deadline.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart opened its fourth Springfield Neighborhood Market Nov. 17 at West Mount Vernon Street and North West Bypass. The $1.6 million, 41,171-square-foot store was the second to open in October, following the 545 W. El Camino Alto Drive store in James River Commons. Wal-Mart also opened Neighborhood Market stores at 3150 W. Republic Road and 1320 S. Glenstone Ave. in May.

The Neighborhood Market stores are smaller, grocery-focused versions of the Supercenter model.[[In-content Ad]]