Wal-Mart looks at second site for new supercenter

But an official says the new site isn't definite.

By DAN DEWITT
Published July 20, 2007

SPRING HILL - Wal-Mart is considering building Hernando County's fifth Supercenter at Mariner Boulevard and County Line Road, but has not committed to the site, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

"At this point in time, it's very preliminary," said Quenta Vettel, Wal-Mart's spokeswoman for Central Florida. "We are having some geotechnical work done, as we often do when we are looking at a potential site. We have not had any county meetings."

Vettel made her comments two days after the county received a letter from an engineering firm identifying the 18-acre parcel, just north of the Pasco County line, as a site of a future Wal-Mart. If the company does build a store there, it would be smaller than most other Supercenters, covering about 125,000 square feet, she said.

"Those are intended to be neighborhood Supercenters for the people who live nearby," she said, adding that the company has not yet decided whether the Mariner-County Line location would be an alternate for the contested site on Barclay Road or an additional store.

Wal-Mart now operates three Supercenters in Hernando and one Sam's Club wholesale outlet. The company has a massive distribution center east of Interstate 75, near Ridge Manor.

"The Hernando County market is very important to Wal-Mart," Vettel said, "and we look for areas that might be under-served."

Dan DeWitt can be reached at dewitt@sptimes.com or 352 754-6116.

[Last modified July 19, 2007, 21:05:42]