Wal-Mart Hesitates in Atlanta

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) announced that it will delay building a new Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Atlanta’s Cascade Corridor because of residents’ resistance. The retailer, which has been fighting similar battles across the U.S., said it will “take another look” at how it can best serve the Southwest Atlanta community.

“We took very seriously the concerns some Cascade residents expressed about various aspects of the store plans,” said Mia Masten, Wal-Mart’s regional community relations manager. “Wal-Mart wants to develop a mutually beneficial partnership with this community, so we will use this time to reevaluate how we can establish this relationship.”

Masten said that while many Cascade community residents expressed support for a Wal-Mart presence in their neighborhood, “we are not satisfied that the community as a whole appreciates the advantages a SuperCenter can provide in terms of jobs, conveniences, and tax revenues. So, we are not closing the door on this project. We are encouraged by their support but we have determined that we simply need to delay the project at this time and continue our dialogue with them.”

Wal-Mart said it conducted extensive research within the community to gauge the levels of support or opposition for its development plans and they hosted community forums to discuss the details of the project and to listen to resident concerns, Masten says. Direct mailings informed residents of some 19,000 households of their intents, and they conducted community opinion surveys.

The property developers and owners said they plan to move forward with the zoning change request that would allow retail use of the land, which they see as a long-term benefit to the community. A zoning vote is set for today during the regular meeting of the Fulton County Commission.