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Wal-Mart likes site on 34th St. in Kenwood

The bungalow-style store would need no special permission.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published June 6, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Wal-Mart could be coming to central St. Petersburg, and there may be nothing neighbors can say about it.

The company, often criticized for trampling the environment and small business, may build a smaller version of its typical supercenter on the northeast corner of 34th Street and First Avenue N. Because the plan for a 107, 000-square-foot store fits with zoning regulations at the site, the project would require no special permission so neighbors would have no opportunity to express any opinion.

"They've adjusted their strategy so they don't have to go to public hearings, " said City Council member Jeff Danner, who represents the areas around the proposed store.

Danner said he suggested Wal-Mart build on this site years ago when it instead sought variances to build 3 miles to the south. He added there's nothing wrong with building within existing regulations, but he didn't understand why the company had foregone the idea before and in another attempt to build on Gandy Boulevard.

For its part, Wal-Mart is suggesting that this will be a different store, half the usual size and without garden or automotive services. The store will feature groceries and even organic foods, said spokeswoman Quenta Vettel.

"It's just to serve those neighborhoods, " said Vettel, who will discuss the proposal Thursday at a meeting of the nearest neighborhood, Kenwood. "We want to build something very special."

Wal-Mart has two other stores in the area, one 5.5 miles away on Tyrone Boulevard, the other 6.5 miles north on U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park.

Vettel said the company has no final plans and wants to work with Kenwood, as well as the nearby Central Oak Park neighborhood, to be sure the store blends in. She said preliminary drawings borrow from the architectural styles of the area.

"It's kind of like a bungalow - a 100, 000-square-foot bungalow, " said Jim Longstreth, president of the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association, which prides itself on its restored craftsman homes. Longstreth said he wants to hear Wal-Mart's plan Thursday, but will schedule a separate meeting for questions and answers.

Danner said preliminary drawings of the "boutique" Wal-Mart make it look like the new Hospice of the Florida Suncoast building on First Avenue S, where the Kenwood meeting will be held.

"As big boxes go, " he said, "it's as good as you can get."

Longstreth said initial reaction in the neighborhood was shock, but that people recognize the need to redevelop the Central Plaza area where the store would sit. Some may not like Wal-Mart, he said, but the area has been underused for decades.

"A lot of people say, 'Why can't it be a Whole Foods or even a Target?' " Longstreth said. "The bottom line is, only one large corporation is looking at building there."

Providence Management is about to start a wholesale redevelopment of the former Plaza Fifth Avenue apartment building just blocks from the Wal-Mart site. The prospect of the store is a positive for the luxury apartments that will form Skyline Fifth Residences, the company said.

"I think that's great for the neighborhood, " said Providence's Craig Knight. "It's a good thing for the west end of Kenwood and for the U.S. 19 corridor."

The site is currently home of the former Diamond Furniture Gallery and of Super Parts, an auto supply business housed in a former Montgomery Ward. Those buildings, which Vettel said would be demolished, cover more ground than would the new Wal-Mart. Danner said the auto parts store already generates lots of truck traffic, so the Wal-Mart might not represent a noticeable change.

"There's no real argument it would be any worse than what's there now, " Danner said. "There's really no argument to keep Wal-Mart out."

Danner said he has some concern about traffic access from 34th Street southbound because people entering Wal-Mart would have to turn at Burlington Avenue, before the store. Drivers who missed that turn would have to circle down to Central Avenue and return via 32nd Street.

The company has yet to file official plans for the development and is going slow in meetings with officials and neighbors, Vettel said. Wal-Mart has been the company many love to hate and has had its share of squabbles in Pinellas County.

Wal-Mart tried to build a store two years ago on property it owned on Gandy Boulevard, but neighborhood opposition killed that project. The company recently put the property up for sale.

The company also faced opposition to plans for a store in Tarpon Springs but is moving ahead with that construction, albeit with ongoing resistance from the community.

"What we have learned over the years is, if we can go in from the beginning and work with the neighborhood, we're more successful, " Vettel said.

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.

Fast Facts:

Kenwood meeting

The Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 3050 First Ave. S.

[Last modified June 5, 2007, 22:19:00]