Wal-Mart’s decision to delay stores in Marysville and Arlington and scrap a new store proposed for Mill Creek means lost sales-tax revenue for those cities, but the effects will be minimal.
Two weeks ago, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer announced it has put off construction of supercenters in Marysville and Arlington until 2009, with the stores scheduled to open the following year.
Because construction hadn’t begun, city officials hadn’t anticipated the added sales-tax revenue to roll in yet.
“We didn’t budget for it,” said Kristin Banfield, assistant city administrator for Arlington.
Similarly, Marysville hadn’t begun counting the additional sales tax dollars, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands annually, from a new Wal-Mart supercenter at the northwest corner of Highway 9 and 64th Street NE.
“If the store isn’t open, and we haven’t gotten the first check, it’s not in my budget,” said Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall.
Both cities have development rules that allow Wal-Mart to delay until 2009 without repeating the permit approval process. In Marysville, construction plans for the store are still under review, said senior planner Chris Holland. Once they are approved, that approval is good for up to 36 months.
As for the delay, Kendall said he was disappointed by Wal-Mart’s decision, but he understood its reasons.
Banfield said the lack of activity at the undeveloped store site along 172nd Street in Arlington hinted of the store’s delayed opening.
“It wasn’t a terribly big surprise to us,” she said. “We’re ready whenever they are.”
In Mill Creek, the cancellation of Wal-Mart’s store along 132nd Street SE isn’t a fatal blow to other development plans for that area. Bill Trimm, the city’s community development director, said planning for the East Gateway urban village on adjacent land is continuing.
“What we’re really trying to create here is not another shopping destination, but an urban village with a lot of residential and some retail,” Trimm explained.
The Wal-Mart store would have been just west of the proposed East Gateway development, and city officials had even asked if Wal-Mart would reorient its store to tie in better with the new urban village. The retailer didn’t want to do that, however.
Had Wal-Mart pursued its plans, the store would have produced an estimated $250,000 in sales tax revenue for the community, city officials said. Wal-Mart had estimated an even higher number.
Trimm said the city has contacted the owners and development representative of the property Wal-Mart had planned to use. It may be possible, he said, to attract another anchor retailer that fits in well with the East Gateway project.
That would be fine with opponents of the proposed Wal-Mart. Lillian Kaufer of Citizens for a Better Mill Creek said she’s fine with the East Gateway project and would welcome most other retailers to that site.
The last new Wal-Mart to open in Snohomish County is the store along Highway 99 in south Everett, which opened in 2006.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jennifer Spall said a decision by the world’s largest retailer to slow down its expansion everywhere played a role in the decision to delay its new stores locally. In Mill Creek, additional regulatory hurdles, spurred in part by opponents to the store, played a role in that store’s cancellation.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
