News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Chandler Wal-Mart set to become a supercenter
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
Chandler's first Wal-Mart is going super. The store at 800 W. Warner Road, which has sold general merchandise for about 20 years, is in the beginning stages of an expansion that will add groceries, making it a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
According to Delia Garcia, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart in Arizona, the 29,000-square-foot expansion should take about 15 months to complete.
She said plans are to minimize inconvenience. There will be noise from the work, and customers will notice some disruption in the parking lot and merchandise will be moved around during construction.
"They might not find items where they expect to find them," Garcia said.
When it is finished, the store's square footage will be slightly less than the square footage of three football fields.
Wal-Mart has three stores in Chandler, and they haven't always been welcome.
The City Council rejected a 212,000-square-foot supercenter at the northeast corner of Queen Creek and Alma School roads in 1999 after hundreds of residents from neighboring master-planned communities voiced their opposition to the store.
Residents were worried the store would bring dangerous traffic and crime to the area.
Jane Poston, spokeswoman for Chandler, said the city hasn't so far heard from any residents concerned with the expansion of the Warner Road store.
The expansion will bring the store's square footage to slightly more than half the size of the rejected store.
"This store has been a fixture in the community," Garcia said.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: