Published Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Herald Business Editor
A Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for Hermitage took a big step Monday as details were given to city planners on what a developer has in mind.
If all goes as planned, groundbreaking would begin in July on the 207,000-square-foot store to open in mid-summer 2004, said Kevin Brett, one of the project engineers.
Cedarwood Development Inc. of Akron is looking to build the combination retail store, supermarket and tire and garden center plus create parcels for other smaller retailers in a multi-phase development along North Hermitage Road, next to Stupka Motors.
While Wal-Mart has long been known to be interested in the property owned by the Kraynak family, Monday was the first time anyone involved with the development has publicly acknowledged plans for the site.
Brett presented the preliminary design to the Hermitage Planning Commission. He said the store will sit on 26.5 acres and have 963 parking spaces and two separate entrance and exit lanes off North Hermitage Road.
The first phase of the construction also will include development of three parcels in front of the store, a total of about five acres, one for an eight-pump gasoline station and the others for restaurants or other retailers.
In the second phase, five commercial buildings, ranging in size from 5,000 to 33,200 square feet with parking would be built south of the Supercenter. Other parcels fronting North Hermitage Road would also be created. No timetable was given for the second phase or what might be housed in those buildings.
Hermitage officials are discussing with PennDOT the traffic patterns along North Hermitage Road should the development be built. Additional highway lanes, plus a traffic signal, will likely be needed, said Gary Hinkson, Hermitage city manager.
Other details of the project call for a buffer zone of trees behind the supercenter.
City planners asked technical questions about the development, ranging from water drainage to the height of the building, uppermost in their minds was what plans the retailer has for its existing 110,000-square-foot store on the Shenango Valley Freeway at South Hermitage Road. That store is about a dozen years old.
Brett said the retailer is looking for another business to buy or lease the property. When pressed by planners, he acknowledged no deal is in hand.
"But they don't like to have abandoned Wal-Marts,'' he added.
Planner Randy Coleman said it is imperative city officials have direct contact with Wal-Mart officials about the existing store.
"We want to talk to someone at the Wal-Mart operation in person,'' Coleman said. "We don't want to be adversarial, but we want them to understand the seriousness of this.''
For more than a year, Hermitage officials have expressed concern about the growing number of vacant storefronts in the city. In recent years, Heilig-Meyers furniture, Ames, Phar-Mor and Family Toy Warehouse have closed and their stores remain unoccupied.
A final plan for the Supercenter's development is expected to be submitted in the upcoming weeks, with the planning commission to consider it in April. The commission can recommend changes, modifications or deny the plan, but the final decision rests with city commissioners.
The proposed store is similar to others Wal-Mart is building, Brett said. It is about 57,000 square feet bigger than the Supercenter that opened more than four years ago in Hempfield Township.
Shenango Valley retailers, particularly grocers, have kept a wary eye on the project. The nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart is known for undercutting the competition on prices.