Wal Mart Meets with the Neighborhood

On July 10, 2007, at the Gandy Civic Center, Wal Mart officials met in a preliminary, very informal meeting with the neighborhood. Al Steenson, president of Sun Bay South Neighborhood Association chaired the meeting. Also present in the audience were Rose Ferlita, County Commisioner, Jerry Frankhouser, president of Bayside West Neighborhood Association, twelve residents of Regency Cove (including 3 Board members), and a full house totaling over 60 concerned citizens.


WalMart's team included the senior manager of public affairs, Quenta Vellel, their attorney, Jim Porter, and the Building and the Traffic Engineers. Each took turns explaining that this is just a preliminary meeting, that they are meeting with Tampa officials tomorrow, and a brief overview of the 2 preliminary drawings that were available were described. Here is what we learned.

The property is already zoned commercial, so there is no need for them to go before the variance board, and have public hearings. They will, however, continue to maintain an open dialog with the neighborhood association.
There are 5 parcels of property involved, Sticks N Stuff, and the sex shop, and three more behind them. They have not yet been purchased, but contracts are pending.

The proposed store will be a 24 hour Super Center, meaning groceries and retail goods are sold. There will be no Tire and Lube Center, nor a gas station, due to space limitations. The store itself, including the Nursey Center will be 147,000 sq feet, covering 12.5 acres. This is comparable to the store on Dale Mabry, past I275. Anticipated completion is 2009.

The parking lot will have a 625 car capacity. Although there are currently 3 accesses on Gandy Blvd. with the current stores, WalMart is planning a single access on Gandy, but three on Lois Ave.

Questions and concerns from the audience included:

• Traffic- what will be done to alleviate it, are speed bumps planned, what improvements to Lois Ave are anticipated.?Would left hand turns on Gandy be allowed? Would they consider completing a tie-in to the Tyson corridor? A traffic study is currently in the works, but not as yet completed. They are bound by FDOT regulations.
• Storm water run-off--- where is it going, are they using neighborhood infrastructure, or disposing of it themselves? Are they aware of the significant neighborhood flooding that occurs during "normal" summer downpours?
• Is Wal Mart concerned with "green" buildings, environments? There will be no grass roof, but the company is currently researching a variety of parking pavements, lighting options, and opportunities for using less water, and eliminating more storm water naturally. More to follow.
• Jobs to become available-- 300 to 350. Many with benefits.

This will be interesting to watch as time goes on. Most people present were happy to see the store coming into our South Tampa neighborhood. One or two were visibly upset.