Wal-Mart Planning First Fort Lauderdale Store
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The world's largest retailer wants to open its first Fort Lauderdale store.
Wal-Mart would like to build a Neighborhood Market on a seven-acre site on the southwest corner of Andrews Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard, CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reports.
If built, it will be the first Wal-Mart store in east central Broward County and the county's third Neighborhood Market.
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets primarily are grocery stores, smaller than the typical Wal-Mart store or Wal-Mart Supercenters. One such store opened earlier this year in Boynton Beach.
The project has drawn early support from the leaders of nearby civic associations. Mayor Jack Seiler told BrowardBulldog.org the development would be a benefit to the adjacent Progresso Village neighborhood.
"The area is in need of an economic boost," the mayor said.
Developer Frank Gatlin, CEO of Gatlin Development Company, and attorney Nectaria Chakas have met twice since January with the Progresso Village Civic Association, the neighborhood to the south and west of the mostly vacant development site, to discuss planning for the proposed 40,000-square-foot store.
According to a map provided to the civic association, the development site would run from Sunrise Boulevard south to Northwest 9th Street and Andrews Avenue west to Northwest Second Avenue. Several parcels on the site's southwest corner are not included in the development plans.
In addition to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market store, Gatlin's plans include three additional freestanding buildings, ranging in size from 4,000- to 8,500-square-feet. Chakas said those buildings would be rented or sold to other retailers.
Chakas described the development as "a typical shopping center."
Property records show that a limited liability company called Project Andrews owns most of the development site, 28 of the approximately 35 lots. State corporate records identity the managing member of Project Andrews as John K. Baldwin, of Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Attorney Chakas, who represents Gatlin but not Wal-Mart, said Wal-Mart has yet to give Gatlin the go-ahead to proceed with the project. No property has been purchased, she said, adding that she did not know when the project would proceed. "We haven't submitted anything [officially] to the city yet," she said.
In June, 2012, Gatlin signed a letter of intent to purchase Project Andrews' 4.73 acres for $5 million. A January 13, 2013, project status report shows that Project Andrews' land purchase cost rose to $5.5 million. Project Andrews was paid $50,000 last August as a deposit, with additional earnest money deposits scheduled.
The status report also shows that between $10,000 and $50,000 deposit money has been paid to five other property owners for their lots. Depending on the lot, the closing dates range from next June until January 2014.
In interviews, members of the Progresso Village Civic Association and of the South Middle River Association praised the project as a way to help to improve the economically depressed area.
Progresso Village Vice President J.J. Hankerson, whose neighborhood is to the south and west of the site, called it "a plus for the community." South Middle River president Sal Gatanio called the development a "win-win" for Wal-Mart and his neighborhood.
"There are not many other stores [in the area]," Gatanio said. "There's no place for people to go food shopping…If it happens it will be a great thing."
Gatanio said the location for the planned development has long been "horrendous" and "nothing but a problem." He added, however, that he was speaking only for himself because his association, which is north of Sunrise Boulevard, has yet to take an official position.
Progresso Village President Bradley Cohen supports the project.
Cohen said that during his association's first meeting with developer Gatlin in January, several members expressed concerns about aspects of the development, including traffic patterns, parking and landscaping. He said their concerns were satisfactorily addressed during the association's second meeting with Gatlin in February.
Mayor Seiler, who said he was first approached by developers last year, told BrowardBulldog.org that neighbors have also expressed concerns about proper lighting and security cameras.
Gatlin has told the Progresso Village Association that he wants to get the project moving "as soon as possible," according to Hankerson.
Wal-Mart's website says Neighborhood Markets have about 95 employees and are approximately one-quarter the size of a Supercenter. In addition to groceries, they have a pharmacy and sell other kinds of merchandise.
Through the end of January, Wal-Mart counted 4,625 stores in the United States, including 267 Neighborhood Markets.
Last year, Wal-Mart purchased a 13-acre lot located on the southeast corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Northeast 6th Avenue in Oakland Park. The site is currently a Kmart.
(TM and © 2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and © 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)
