Walmart wants to spread its awfulness Walmartness on a seven-acre site on the southwest corner of Andrews Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, according to a Miami Herald report.
So now those who live in Fort Lauderdale won't have to travel to Miami anymore when they need to buy a lamp, a candle, a wig, some house paint, giant boxes of Ritz, $3 sweatpants, batteries, and some peanut butter all at the same time anymore.
If the store is built, it will be the first Walmart store in east-central Broward County and the county's third Neighborhood Market.
Mayor Jack Seiler is all for the store hitting up the neighborhood.
"The area is in need of an economic boost," he says.
The Progresso Village Civic Association has met twice with developer Frank Gatlin, the man behind the plan for the proposed 40,000-square-foot store.
Gatlin plans on building two additional buildings on the site, which would be rented out for other retailers.
The property hasn't been purchased, and Walmart has yet to give Gatlin the official green light to plant its giant-box building of cheap merchandise. But Gatlin signed a letter of intent to purchase Project Andrews' 4.73 acres for $5 million back in June of last year.
According to the Herald, the Progresso Village Civic Association folks are all for building a Walmart in the area, saying it will be an improvement for the economically depressed neighborhood.
Progresso Village Vice President J.J. Hankerson, whose neighborhood is to the south and west of the site, called it "a plus for the community." South Middle River president Sal Gatanio called the development a "win-win" for Walmart and his neighborhood.
"There are not many other stores [in the area]," Gatanio said. "There's no place for people to go food shopping... If it happens it will be a great thing."
Poor people need long-hour jobs for little money, no benefits, and no chance of forming a union, damn it. They also need somewhere to buy food.
Two birds, one megastone!
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