Word of warning: This won't be the sole Unfair Park item of the day to feature the word "Walmart." Patience, patience. But, to begin: Remember that Walmart going in at Ledbetter and R.L. Thornton? Right, that one. Gave us the phrase "Trees do not vote" during the contentious discussion about how the Big Box will decimate a small forest near Five Mile Creek.
Well, turns out that's not the only thing planned for that location: According to Item No. 32 on next week's council agenda, former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas advisory council member and Corinth Properties partner Frank Mihalopoulos has big plans for that development that will include not merely the 182,000-square foot Walmart Supercenter but an additional "45,000 square feet of additional stores and restaurants offering general merchandise and other retail related services," per the agenda. And the city's offering to help pay for the development to tune of $2 million out of the city's Public/Private Partnership
Program, which will come out of that seemingly endless supply of 2006 bond funds. Per the agenda:
The economic development grant is designed to offset certain development costs including property demolition, public infrastructure, environmental remediation, and other related improvements for the development of this shopping center. The City grant will be payable upon obtaining a certificate of occupancy for the Wal-Mart Supercenter and the expenditure of at least $15,000,000 on the project (demolition, site work, vertical improvements, infrastructure, and other related project costs) by December 31, 2013.Says the agenda, the council's Economic Development Committee is due to be briefed on the item Monday, after which council will be asked to vote on the grant. Trees, however, will have no say in the matter.
