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News :: Elections & Legislation |
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Urbana council gives final OK for Wal-Mart |
Current rating: -2 |
by MIKE MONSON
Email: mmonson (nospam) news-gazette.com (unverified!) |
02 Mar 2004
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URBANA – With little fanfare or controversy, the Urbana City Council gave final approval Monday night to a Wal-Mart Supercenter project at the southeast corner of U.S. 150 and Illinois 130. |
© 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online March 2, 2004
URBANA – With little fanfare or controversy, the Urbana City Council gave final approval Monday night to a Wal-Mart Supercenter project at the southeast corner of U.S. 150 and Illinois 130.
Aldermen unanimously approved a final plat for the first phase of the project, which will include a roughly 200,000-square-foot supercenter and an accompanying gas station on 27 acres.
Construction on the Wal-Mart is expected to begin in early June, and will take about nine months to complete, said Bill Harpole, an engineer with the Springfield firm of Crawford, Murphy and Tilly. Bids will be solicited in April, he said.
Monday night's quiet meeting contrasted sharply with a Jan. 20 meeting, where the city council approved a preliminary plat for the project. That meeting drew more than 60 residents, most of them vociferously opposed to Wal-Mart coming to Urbana.
In contrast, not one resident spoke about the Wal-Mart project during public participation Monday night.
City officials say they expect to see more than $120,000 in new property taxes and $700,000 to $900,000 in sales taxes from the Wal-Mart Supercenter, which will offer grocery sales in addition to general merchandise. Urbana has seen flat sales tax growth in recent years, with the city hurt by the closure of Bergner's in Lincoln Square Mall and the Kmart store in southeast Urbana.
The entrance to the Wal-Mart will be from a new road, Tatman Drive, extending 1,150 feet east from Illinois 130. A traffic signal will be located at the entrance and two left-turn lanes will lead into Tatman Drive from the southbound lanes of Illinois 130.
Sidewalks will be constructed along both sides of Tatman Drive and along the Illinois 130 frontage. No improvements will be required at the intersection of Illinois 130 and U.S. 150, and there will be no direct access to Wal-Mart from U.S. 150.
Eventually, the commercial area near Wal-Mart is expected to grow. The commercially zoned area covers 75 acres in all, with undeveloped lots 3 through 7 located east of the Wal-Mart site.
A new drainage ditch along the north property line will collect runoff from the north, replacing an old drainage tile, and will channel it to flow to the east. A detention basin will be constructed on the east part of the Wal-Mart lot to handle runoff related to the development of the site.
The Saline Branch Drainage District's engineering firm reviewed the drainage plan and has agreed the plans are adequate, a city memo stated.
You can reach Mike Monson at (217) 351-5370 or via e-mail at mmonson (at) news-gazette.com. |
Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |
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Re: Urbana council gives final OK for Wal-Mart |
by joe
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
07 Mar 2004
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protest wal mart in the belly of the beast at the shareholders convention in Arkansas
www.againstthewal.org |
