SMOKEY POINT – Wal-Mart confirmed Monday that it wants to place one of its supercenter stores along 172nd Street NE, ending weeks of local speculation about who was behind plans submitted to the city last month.
The store, planned for a 25-acre site along the south side of the street, would be just under 204,000 square feet.
Pacific Northwest Developments
The supercenter would carry general merchandise and a range of groceries, said Eric Berger, Wal-Mart’s community affairs manager for the Northwest. Plans submitted by Pacific Northwest Developments, a subsidiary of Tacoma’s David Evans and Associates, also show a pharmacy, garden center, gas station and tire center.
“We’re early in the process, but we see an opportunity to serve our existing and new customers in that area,” Berger said.
Until Monday, when Berger talked to reporters and city officials, the name of the company to occupy the proposed store was unknown. Residents and business people speculated it might be Costco, Fred Meyer or others.
Wal-Mart, however, has been the most active big box retailer in Snohomish County lately. The company last year expanded its Quil Ceda Village store into a supercenter and bought land in south Everett for a new store. It also is interested in a site in Stanwood, which has created controversy in that city.
Most of the Smokey Point site, lying to the west of 43rd Avenue NE, is owned by Arlington developer Brent McKinley’s Vine Street Group, which also is spearheading the proposed development in Stanwood. Unlike the Stanwood site, however, the land is zoned for retail uses.
Arlington Mayor Margaret Larson said reaction to the proposed Smokey Point store hasn’t been as critical as in Stanwood.
“Since the word came out, I haven’t received any negative comments,” Larson said.
The site is not far from Wal-Mart’s existing supercenter on the Tulalip reservation. But Berger said Wal-Mart considers them to be “two distinct markets.”
“We hear from Arlington residents who shop in our existing store about their desire to spend their money in a store in their community and about making it more convenient,” he said.
The store, if built, would employ more than 400 people and bring in thousands of dollars in sales tax revenue each year for the city, Berger said. Larson said that would fit in nicely with the city’s economic development hopes for that area.
Sketches of the store’s exterior show wood accents, awnings and muted colors not usually associated with big-box stores. That’s part of a trend Wal-Mart is trying in different parts of the country, Berger said.
“We are making the effort in multiple communities, including Arlington, to make stores that are distinct to that community,” he said.
Cliff Strong, Arlington’s city planning manager, said the application for the Wal-Mart store is being reviewed. Because of the store’s huge size, it’s considered a special use, which requires a land use permit. If the city recommends the permit be issued, public notice will be given and a public hearing can be requested, he said.
Assuming the proposal clears any obstacles, permits for construction could be issued by late spring or early summer, Strong added.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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