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Letter to the editor

Neighbors size up Wal-Mart

Historic Kenwood residents question the store's traffic plan and voice other concerns.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published June 8, 2007

As the curious look at diagrams of the proposed Kenwood Wal-Mart, neighborhood residents Paul Bonneau and his partner Ed Johnson talk with Sherry Subak before a meeting about the company's plans for a store at 34th Street and 1st Avenue N.
	[Times photo: Edmund D. Fountain ]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Edmund D. Fountain] Kenwood resident Nick de Jesus speaks during a meeting between Kenwood residents and Wal-Mart officials at the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in St. Petersburg. "There are pros and cons," he says. "But I also see the impact of these giant corporations. They step on smaller ones."

Wal-Mart coming to town often spurs discussions of politics and economics, but at a crowded neighborhood meeting Thursday about a proposed store near Kenwood, the chief issue was cars.

The main concern was access to the site now occupied by a former furniture store and an auto parts supplier at 34th Street and First Avenue N.

Wal-Mart's engineer said state regulations forced it to eliminate auto access from 34th Street and allow entrance to the site only from First or Burlington avenues. Neighbors feared drivers would get confused about not being able to enter in front of the store and end up driving through the neighborhood.

Wal-Mart is proposing a 107,000-square-foot "urban supercenter" on the site, which is about half the square footage of the buildings there now. Unlike its bigger box discount stores, like those north and south on 34th Street, this one is aimed at a market in about a one-mile radius, so the company doesn't expect to generate congestion.

City Council member Jeff Danner assured the gathering that Wal-Mart was merely complying with the state's regulation to limit 34th Street access. But one audience member who knows the system well said the community could persuade the Department of Transportation if they worked together with Wal-Mart and the city.

"How can we make it so the store doesn't create secondary impacts?" asked Bob Jeffrey, speaking as a neighbor, though he is the city's assistant director of development services. "If we all walk in arm-in-arm, DOT's going to say, 'Okay.'"

Some audience members brought up issues of the store's size and its effect on area employment. Others asked about domestic-partner benefits for its 300 employees. But all the issues were just fine tuning for a project that in its essence is a done deal.

The store fits within all zoning regulations and requires no special permission so it will likely be built, which is why some neighbors wondered why the company was presenting its case at all.

"We want to hear from you," said Jim Porter, a Ruden McClosky attorney representing the international retail giant on this project. "We wanted to explain so there aren't any surprises, but we haven't submitted anything (to the city) yet. If you don't like it, we want to hear."

Concerns over the 546 parking spaces or more than five acres of pavement were set aside when the company's engineers explained they designed the site to meet regulations. Some picked at architectural details, even though the design is unique to the area, Porter said, and borrows from features of Kenwood bungalows. Some were unhappy the store would be open 24 hours a day, but others liked the idea.

Wal-Mart opponents often cite the company's impact on small businesses, and some in the audience of about 75 people feared what this store would do to the up-and-coming Grand Central District. Company spokesperson Quenta Vettel said this kind of neighborhood center can complement niche businesses because its discount profile doesn't offer the selection and service a boutique can.

This store will appeal to an upscale audience, Vettel said. The store would offer some organic foods and higher-line merchandise. Some in the audience wanted assurance that the store would fit in other ways, including being kept clean and safe. Not all were satisfied with Wal-Mart's answers.

"You can have a lower class of shopper, or you can have us," Jeffrey said, urging Wal-Mart to hire security. "Pick the one you want."

Paul Swider can be reached at (727) 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 8, 2007, 01:31:01]