Local News
Wal-Mart project delayed indefinitely
<b>City officials, company executives confident supercenter will be built</b>
City officials heard from Wal-Mart representatives Thursday that construction of a 160,000-square-foot supercenter on Logansport’s east side had been delayed.
No date has been set for construction to begin, Mayor Mike Fincher said, but he believes the national retailer will eventually move forward on the project.
“I’m still confident they’re going to be here,” Fincher said. “It’s just the way the economy is and the way things are happening right now.”
Wal-Mart spokesperson Jason Wetzel echoed the mayor’s thoughts. He said he was certain there would be a supercenter in Logansport at some point.
“We believe that going forward we will, of course, be able to build the supercenter and increase our business in Logansport,” said Wetzel, who cited the troubled economy as a main reason for the delay.
Wal-Mart, one of few retailers to report a sales gain in January, is focusing on its existing stores and overall business, Wetzel said.
This week, Wal-Mart announced it would cut between 700 and 800 jobs from the 14,000 total at its headquarters in Arkansas.
“All those things added together with the economy and the shuffling around of the corporate offices, it got caught in the fray,” Fincher said of the local store.
Thursday’s announcement is not the first setback for the supercenter. In December, Wal-Mart rejected bids on the project and moved the store opening from late 2009 to late spring of 2010.
Skip Kuker, president of the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation, pointed out that Wal-Mart owned the land behind the Logansport Mall and was footing the bill for beefing up the power supply, work that had been under way for the last week or so.
In November, Wal-Mart acquired some 30 acres of land and secured temporary construction easements for the supercenter to be built between Mall and Yorktown roads north of the mall.
Fincher said he appreciated Wal-Mart’s courtesy call.
“They didn’t have to call us,” Fincher said. “I think it shows that they respect our support and our help through the whole project.”
Wetzel complimented the city’s cooperation and promised to stay in contact throughout the process.
Kuker says he will remain available for whatever Wal-Mart might need.
“We’ll just make sure that they remember us, and that we’re in the cue,” Kuker said.
Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com
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