Love it or hate it, but Walmart is very likely coming to Charles Village. The big box discount chain announced last week that with the approval from the city it will join the commercial complex currently planned for the former Anderson Automotive site at 115 W. 25
th Street near the intersection of Howard Street.
According to the company, the store will bring approximately 200 new jobs to the area including positions in store management, pharmacy, human resources, customer service, cashiers and sales associates. Construction will begin this fall with a grand opening tentatively scheduled for the fall 2011.
"This store will deliver outstanding value to customers and create quality job opportunities for local residents," says Walmart Regional Senior Manager Rhoda Washington. "We look forward to building on the partnerships we have established in neighborhoods throughout Greater Baltimore and continuing our support of charitable services that are important to the city."
The 93,000-square-foot store will be located above the previously announced Lowe's Home Center and co-anchor the $65 million, mixed-use "25th Street Station" development project. The developer, WV Urban Developments LLC, expects to sign additional specialty retailers to the 11-acre project, which also will include residential units along Maryland Avenue. In total, this project is expected to create 400 construction jobs and up to 750 permanent jobs.
The new store also will include energy-efficient technology and environmentally friendly features to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste with a vegetated green roof, high-efficiency lighting, low-flow toilets and faucets as well as recycled and sustainable building materials.
In recent months, Walmart has taken major steps to refresh its stores, merchandising and customer experience. The improvements have all come together in the company's newest locations with faster service, a friendlier shopping experience and cleaner stores.
"This store will features wide aisles, enhanced service and a layout designed to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers," adds Washington. "The layout will be easy to navigate, which will save our customers time as they shop for everyday necessities."
"We are extremely excited to have added Walmart to 25th Street Station," says Jon Laria, a attorney for the project with Ballard Spahr. "We were originally looking for a good grocery store and that was our plan when we held our first community meetings in December. We soon began to realize that we were not going to find an acceptable grocery store in the current market, and fortunately Walmart approached us after seeing early news coverage of the project."
With few, if any, other retailers out there that could provide both fresh, healthy, local produce and other foods, as well as the general merchandise shopping that many community members told Ballard Spahr they need and which barely exists in the city, Walmart was an excellent solution, says Laria.
"Its flexibility to build a smaller store, combined with its extraordinary commitment to sustainability at the store and throughout the company, made it even better. We're also happy that Walmart will bring 200+ jobs at all skill levels, helping us meet our expected goal of over 700 jobs for the entire project," he adds.
The combination of Walmart and Lowe's will help ensure that the site is redeveloped and doesn't become a vacant parcel in the midst of several important City neighborhoods, according to Laria. "We also think the added activity and vitality will help existing businesses in the neighborhood and attract new ones. Business activity will attract more business activity."
Thus far, Laria says, they've been "really pleased" with the feedback from the community and the city that has included constructive suggestions about how to make the project better. "We're going to continue working on it with our community partners through the City's design review process, and know we'll have a project that works both for the retailers we expect to attract as well as our community neighbors."
Tell us what you think.
Sources: Rhoda Washington, Walmart; Jon Laria, Ballard Spahr.
Writer: Walaika Haskins