3 Walmarts in heart of city?

There may be as many as three new, smaller-scale Walmart stores coming into the heart of Columbia, an official familiar with the retail giant’s plans for expansion into the city said Thursday.

One of the sites getting the company’s attention is the former Jim Moore Cadillac dealership on North Main, near the Elmwood Park and Cottontown neighborhoods, according to the official as well as the executive director of Sustainable Midlands, a coalition of environmental groups active in the debate about Wal-Mart’s interest in downtown.

Mayor Steve Benjamin and Councilwoman Belinda Gergel said they, too, have heard about Wal-Mart’s multi-store plan.

But, “I have not been told that by the developers or the (city) staff,” Benjamin said of Wal-Mart’s real estate arm, Bright Meyers of Atlanta.

Gergel said the information has come to her from the public. “We’re going to have a very heightened presence of Walmarts,” she said.

The number of new stores might be fewer if City Council proceeds with a contract to sell Capital City Stadium for the largest of the three stores — now planned at 92,000 square feet. That would be a scaled-back Supercenter, said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. The others would be much smaller “express” or “marketside” stores.

“If you’re not happy about (the stadium location), you better watch out,” the official said. “They might become your neighbor.”

In another turn in the plans for the stadium site off Assembly Street, Benjamin said he plans to invite Bright Meyers to attend a public forum that he hopes council will schedule at the stadium before taking up the sales contract at its Dec. 20 meeting.

Benjamin said he plans to meet with the developers within 10 days. Council’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 13.

In October, council authorized city manager Steve Gantt to sign a sales contract with Bright Meyers, and then directed Gantt to wait after critics complained that building a large retail center near an already polluted and overburdened creek that runs along the property would cause environmental damage, change the character of the Olympia neighborhood and threaten small businesses.

Since then, Benjamin and Gergel have said they oppose selling the stadium to a big-box retailer.

Meanwhile, during meetings with Gantt and city staffers, Bright Meyers agreed to a list of concessions in an apparent bid to win over critics.

The concessions, according to memos exchanged between city staffers and the developer, include:

• Shrink the size from 130,000 square feet to 92,114. This is spelled out on a conceptual site plan that Bright Meyers submitted in mid-November.

• Meet tougher stormwater standards the city is working to adopt to control runoff and pollution.

• Eliminate a garden center and a tire center, which would lessen challenges to local businesses in that line of work – and shrink the store’s footprint.

Install LED lighting and shorten the height of light poles. That would make the lights less bright and intrusive to neighbors.

• Eliminate delivery truck access to the retail complex from Bluff Road. The city is considering ways to deter through-traffic and establish alternate routes.

Include a parking garage to reduce surface parking lots – and stormwater runoff.

• Pay for sidewalks and crosswalks along Assembly Street.

• Reduce noise from the store’s heating and air-conditioning systems.

• Incorporate the site’s baseball history into the project.

Bright Meyers is looking at as many as eight sites around the capital city, the official said. But the company’s focus is the city center. It could build three or four stores, said the official, who declined to identify any other site, saying Wal-Mart has so many choices.

“They’re interested in being close to the University of South Carolina. The other sites are literally downtown,” the official said.

Ryan Nevius, executive director of Sustainable Midlands, said she has learned that one of the stores could replace the Kmart on Devine Street near Jackson Boulevard, where a Whole Foods store is to open next year.

Nevius said a neighborhood leader near the vacant auto dealership property on North Main has confirmed that is one of the sites and said some neighbors would welcome a grocery store there.

She said her organization will withhold a decision on the Assembly Street concessions until a site plan is finalized. “The absolutely critical pieces are water quality and connectivity to the river and the (pedestrian) greenway.”

Wal-Mart opened its first two “express stores” last summer in Arkansas. They average 15,000 square feet and offer groceries, fresh produce, dairy, meats and general merchandise, according to the company’s website. The mammoth discount retailer has altered its business strategy and has been moving away from larger superstores in suburban areas and toward smaller operations in urban areas.

And it said earlier this year it has plans to expand in South Carolina.

Asked if he would oppose a multi-Walmart store plan, Benjamin said, “I would not be adverse to anyone who wants to do business in the city.”

Gergel said she is considering proposing a moratorium on big-box construction in the city. “I would certainly be open to limiting square footage within the city limits, or just target (major) corridors.” Big-box stores can conflict with the city’s character, especially downtown, she has said.

She stressed that she has not drafted a proposal or lobbied council members. But she has asked Gantt to have city staffers look into the idea.

Gergel and Nevius said city leaders could protect neighborhoods without a moratorium. They suggest council extend “urban design” overlay restrictions already in place in Five Points, the Vista and USC’s Innovista to key corridors of the city.

“It’s a wonderful, simple solution,” Nevius said. “It would allow a Walmart. It would restrict the size and what it would look like.”