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LORRI HELFANDAbout three dozen Largo residents tell city officials they're not keen on the idea of a Wal-Mart Supercenter nearby. City officials say the plan doesn't match their vision, either.
LARGO - Down the road, city leaders hope the ailing Crossroads Mall will become a minitown center where people would live, work and play.
Nearby residents want their neighborhood to stay pretty much as it is.
Neither group seems to think a Wal-Mart Supercenter fits its vision.
Wednesday, about 35 residents stopped by City Hall to share their concerns about the proposed 208,000-square-foot store at 15579 U.S. 19 N. As proposed, the store would have an automotive center and a 20,000-square-foot garden center. More stores planned on the site would include another 59,780 square feet of retail space.
Most of the residents live on Michigan Drive just east of the property and on Dodge Street, a road north of the site that leads to one of the mall's major entrances.
Several said they worried about noise, bright lights and traffic at the 24-hour megastore.
Joyce LaPlante, who lives on Dodge Street, said her street has a history of traffic problems. She's afraid the center will make the road as dangerous as it used to be before speed humps were added.
"If they build a Wal-Mart there, people will be coming out of Wal-Mart and shooting down our street," LaPlante said. "We've had children hit by cars years ago."
Katheryn Schroeder, who rents property on Michigan Street, said she's worried that the 24-hour store would draw activity around the clock and bother her tenants.
"I feel it's like that movie," Schroeder said. "Build it and they will come."
City Manager Steve Stanton said the project simply doesn't match the city's long-term strategic plan for the site, which includes homes, a variety of shops and recreation.
Commissioner Gay Gentry, a former member of the strategic plan steering committee, agreed.
"I'm not really excited about it," she said. "It's not what I envisioned for that property. We want to have these commercial centers but not one big gray building."
Wal-Mart spokesman Glen Wilkins said the store's designs have come a long way.
"Wal-Mart has changed the way they build these Supercenters," Wilkins said. "They really try to work with the community to accommodate the structures that already exist in the city."
Wilkins added that a good mix of shops and restaurants commonly fill other parcels at Supercenters.
While some neighbors and officials squirm, Crossroads Mall owner Jackson Ward of Mall Owners LLC said he hasn't decided who he's going to sell the property to yet.
"Wal-Mart is one of several options we have on our table," he said.
City leaders have met with Ward several times to express their concerns and persuade him to consider a buyer that matches Largo's vision.
Ward said he understands the city's dilemma, but some entity will soon fill the space, and ultimately, he'll have to make a business decision.
"I'm not saying their vision is right or wrong," Ward said. "Vision is one thing. Reality is another."
Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com