A plan for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Orchards is moving ahead, according to a scaled-back development agreement with the city of Vancouver.
Wal-Mart plans to build a 155,000-square-foot supercenter as part of a mixed-use development on the south side of Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard, east of Northeast 143rd Avenue. Initial plans described as a 203,810-square-foot store. In addition to the usual variety of merchandise, the store will include groceries and feature a bakery, deli and drive-thru pharmacy.
“We’re excited to be moving forward on this store that will bring affordable shopping opportunities, a fuel station and approximately 300 jobs to the Orchards area. This new store will provide local residents the opportunity to find the things that they need at our everyday low prices,” Wal-Mart spokesperson Delia Garcia said Wednesday.
The mixed-use development, originally known as Eastgate Plaza, was annexed into the city in 2003. A Wal-Mart “coming soon” sign was placed on the property in 2006. But the project stalled through the recession.
In the meantime, approximately 18 acres of the original 218-acre site were sold to the U.S. Army in 2009 for a reserve training center.
On Monday, the city council had a workshop on the revised development agreement for what’s now called the Birtcher Business Center. None of the councilmembers expressed objections to the revised agreement, which the council will vote on July 21 following a public hearing.
The amended agreement will save millions of dollars, at least upfront, for property owners California-based Birtcher Development Group, Wal-Mart, Portland-based Weston Investment Co. LLC, Vancouver-based Frances Keller Trust and 438 LLC of Vancouver. The city scrapped a requirement that Northeast 59th Street be extended 15 blocks, from Northeast 147th to 162nd avenues. Instead, developers will have to pay to extend the street as abutting properties are developed, said Greg Turner, the city’s land-use planning manager.
Turner said preliminary estimates from 2008 put the Northeast 59th Street extension project at approximately $19 million.
The city also dropped a requirement to relocate the intersection of Northeast 59th Street and 137th Avenue. That would have meant spending up to $750,000 to relocate Bonneville Power Administration transmission towers.
Future development will cover the cost of extending Northeast 147th Avenue south of Northeast 63rd and 59th streets west to 137th Avenue, according to a presentation made to the council. Plus, construction of transportation system improvements will be accepted in lieu of transportation impact fees.
Turner said changes were made in response to a request from the property owners, who approached the city in early 2013. The changes stemmed both “from a need to respond to modified development parameters in the wake of the economic downturn and to address changes to city codes that had occurred in the years since the original (development agreement) was executed,” Turner wrote in an email.
Turner said Wal-Mart has indicated construction will begin once city permits are issued, which is expected to be in the fall.
While Wal-Mart continues to add stores in Clark County — most recently one in Battle Ground and a smaller Neighborhood Market on Grand Boulevard in Vancouver — the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the retail giant has experienced five consecutive quarters of negative U.S. sales. The retailer’s return on investment has dropped 17 percent, down from 20 percent seven years ago, the newspaper reported July 8.
