The Wal-Mart-owned store will be in Wesley Chapel at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and State Road 56.
By JAMES THORNER
Published August 16, 2003
WESLEY CHAPEL - Doubling its presence in the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area, Wal-Mart plans to open a Sam's Club about a mile north of its supercenter on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
Wal-Mart has grabbed 35 acres fronting State Road 56, east of the Seven Oaks neighborhood entrance, to build the members-only warehouse store that sells food, appliances and cleaning products in bulk.
The store, which exceeds 100,000 square feet and employs about 100, could open as early as next year.
"Wal-Mart is aggressive in general. That's their nature," said Patrick Berman, whose company, Cushman & Wakefield, leases commercial property in the area. "They felt this is a good spot. There's no other discount club nearby."
Wal-Mart operates 528 Sam's Clubs in the United States, a fraction of its nearly 2,864 regular Wal-Mart stores and supercenters.
The company tends to space Sam's Club stores about 10 miles apart, although the nearest Sam's in Pasco is 25 miles away at U.S. 19 and Trouble Creek Road on the county's west side. Two of the warehouse stores occupy opposite ends of Dale Mabry Highway in Hillsborough County.
Yearly family memberships cost $35. In return, Sam's Club sells a mix of 3,500 items, many stacked on shelves and pallets in monster quantities at low prices. The store markets everything from candy and clothing to furniture and large-screen televisions.
Sam's Club targets higher-end customers than does a regular Wal-Mart. Not coincidentally, Wesley Chapel rated the highest median household income in Pasco - $65,293 - on the 2000 Census. Nearby Land O'Lakes reported a median annual household income of $56,789, while New Tampa's median income was $66,107.
"It's not like some kind of bargain basement place." Berman said. "It really caters to the middle- and upper-income brackets."
Wal-Mart has contracted to buy the site from SB Associates Limited Partnership, the Chicago company behind the 2,000-acre Seven Oaks development between Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Interstate 75.
- Researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
