Wal-Mart to start building in fall

The Pinellas Park City Council clears the way for the supercenter by granting several requests from the company Thursday.

By ANNE LINDBERG

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 28, 2000

PINELLAS PARK -- With the final hurdle cleared, all is go for Wal-Mart to begin building its first supercenter in south Pinellas County.

Groundbreaking for the store, which will have a full-service grocery and auto-lube center, should take place in September or October, said David Campbell, the project engineer. That would put the grand opening in July 2001.

The 226,000-square-foot store will replace the 12-screen Movies at Pinellas Park, 7901 U. S. 19 N, and the Drive-In Ministries next door.

The new site is about a half-mile south of the existing Wal-Mart at 8900 U. S. 19 N. The old store will close when the new store opens. The Pinellas Park council on Thursday night unanimously granted a zoning exception that cleared the way for an indoor/outdoor garden center.

Council members also agreed that Wal-Mart could build higher walls than allowed by city rules to protect neighbors from the sights and sounds of a 24-hour store. They also permitted construction of a golf cart and bike path so those neighbors can reach the supercenter without having to travel on the highway.

Wal-Mart next must get construction and other permits from Swiftmud, the city and other agencies and is negotiating with the Florida Department of Transportation for a traffic light at the intersection of 80th Avenue N and U.S. 19, the main entrance to the store.

"Supercenters will always warrant a light based on the (amount of) traffic," Campbell said.

The council approval for the variances came on the heels of Wal-Mart's purchase of three parcels.

"Wal-Mart is now a neighbor here," Campbell announced. "They are the owners of this 26-acre site."

Wal-Mart held an option to buy the property until recently. The purchase, Campbell said, showed the company's commitment to opening the supercenter in Pinellas Park.

Council members were so thrilled that they and the audience applauded resident Marshall Cook, who had long lobbied Wal-Mart to open a supercenter in the city.

Council member Rick Butler presented Cook with a blueprint of the site plan.

"It's not a matter of if I'm going there," Cook said, laughing. "It's a matter of how I'm going there pure and simple."

Cook, who uses a wheelchair or motorized cart to get around, had wanted to make sure Wal-Mart was going to build sidewalks on U. S. 19 to make it easier for handicapped people to reach the store.

Also pleased were members of the Golden Gate Mobile Home Park, immediately to the north of the site.

"We really don't have an objection," said Morey Fisher, president of Golden Gate's homeowners group. "I strongly urge the council to approve this. . . .We do like that idea of the sidewalk coming in and the space for the golf carts, bicycles and small-powered wheelchairs."

They had received guarantees that Wal-Mart will preserve as many of the existing trees as possible on the site. Campbell also assured them that the wall will be decorative so neighbors will not have to face an unattractive sight.

"Our intent is to preserve the trees," Campbell said. In one case, he said, the store was designed around an oak tree because it could kill the tree to move it.

"The end result of doing this," Campbell said, "is a project that will provide eight times the (shade) canopy (over) what is required by code."

Wal-Mart's struggle to open a supercenter in south Pinellas has been long and contentious.

In 1998, the company announced it wanted to develop a site in the Lakewood area of southern St. Petersburg. The company backed out when environmentalists and neighbors protested and the city denied zoning changes.

A few months later, Wal-Mart wanted to build the supercenter at the site of the existing Pinellas Park store on U. S. 19 N. The company again withdrew after neighbors and environmentalists protested.

Late last year, company representatives changed their tactics, working closely with the neighbors, listening to their concerns and needs.

Pinellas Park will be the home of the first supercenter in south Pinellas County.

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