Walmart approved

GRAVETTE — It took just slightly more than 20 minutes Monday evening for the Gravette Planning Commission to give its stamp of approval for a new Walmart Express store to be built in Gravette.

More than 50 interested people jammed the city hall as the Commission members voted unanimously to approve construction of the building to be located on the site of the old Gravette Medical Center, along Highway 59 south.

Elliott Reed, P.E., project manager with Cochran Engineering of Union, Mo., described the proposed structure and its probable completion date.

It will house groceries and general merchandise departments, have a four-pump gasoline island, and a small pharmacy he said. It will employ about 50 people, he added.

Reed said the old hospital structure will be demolished and that part of the project is “now out for bids.” Demolition should start in early April and the entire project is expected to be completed sometime during the summer.

Similar Express Walmarts are already under construction in Gentry and Prairie Grove. They should be operational by early summer, the engineer said.

Very few comments or questions were raised from the crowd. Questions mostly re-volved around how much revenue the store would generate or more details of its contents. Reed said he did not have answers for those questions.

Another question concerned drainage from the site into a large drainage ditch about two blocks north and whether existing culverts could handle an increased flow. The engineer said the same type drainage configuration in place will be followed.

Commission chairman Mike von Ree conducted the meeting with members Kelly Wallace, Larry Jones, Susan von Ree and Jim Floyd present. All five voted in favor of the site development plan and also the building document. Both had received approval from the city building inspector Ray Adams.

Commission members David Hebert and Bobbie Woods were unable to attend because of previous obligations.

The Express concept store is being initiated by Walmart, and the three area stores could serve as models for similar stores throughout the nation.

Bill Simon, president and chief executive of Walmart Stores’ U.S. division, was quoted in a recent issue of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as saying: “We’re going to be adding hundreds of these in coming years."