Walmart is digging a hole to China in Edmond

[jbrown84]

I am so upset about the disaster that is the Fox Lake Walmart. What a terrible mess. You would think that a company based in a place as green as NW Arkansas would be more environmentally responsible than this. They basically ripped out a quarter square mile of forest.

[Oki_Man5]

Did they allow people to cut up the trees for firewood?

[metro]

How is the progress on the construction going? Did they just now take out the trees or have they been out for some time now? Just curious as to what the current status was. Not saying I agree/disagree with the new Wal-Mart.

[jbrown84]

No the trees have been gone for months and they've been doing dirt work and there are piles of dirt three stories high looming over I-35.

[metro]

thanks jbrown84 for the status report. are there any other structures going up other than the wal-mart?

[Faith]

No the trees have been gone for months and they've been doing dirt work and there are piles of dirt three stories high looming over I-35.

Are you speaking of the huge piles of dirt on 1-35 & around 33rd Street? I drive by that everyday and was wondering what was going on there.

[jbrown84]

It's between 15th and 2nd. Metro, the development is supposed to include a shopping center called Fox Lake Plaza, which I fear will be just the same old stuff. No rederings have ever been published, so I can only hope that it is somewhat upscale but I doubt it because it will be next to a Walmart. The shopping center is not as far along in the timetable, I believe.

[TheImmortal]

Here is a picture of the Wal-Mart rendering. Much more upscale looking than most. But a Wal-Mart is a Wal-Mart. I also will try to find the Fox Plake Plaza renderings. I have seen them but can't seem to locate them.

*Edit*
Alright found a link to a video presentation of Fox Lake Plaza. About a few seconds before 3/4 way through you can see the Wal-Mart across the street in the background. This will be a fairly upscale shopping center for OKC standards but all the same I just hope it actually brings some variety to the shopping experience and not another Ross/Petsmart/Ulta clone shopping center like the others in the metro. Even more to ponder. What will happen with the old Wal-Mart site on Broadway? The possiblities are endless. I would definatly keep an eye on the I-35 area, as 17 acres of I-35 frontage was just sold to a developer at I-35 and Covell. I imagine Edmond's strip of I-35will almost turn into a area comparable to Memorial, just in clusters and more upscale. Either way lets keep the Edmond board flowing, as Edmond is what I know best.

[jbrown84]

Well, good to see that it will be super upscale for a Walmart, I guess.

What is the link to that video? I'm dying to see.

[jbrown84]

Excerpted from a 2003 Edmond Sun article:

"Rice said the plans show a 100-foot buffer along the west side of the property, which is the side closest to the Fox Lake Addition. Additional buffers will be kept along 15th Street to preserve some of the natural timber there."

I know for a fact that they left nothing along 15th street or the frontage road, and it doesn't look like they left anything between the lake and the development either. What a terrible mistake.

[metro]

What will happen with the old Wal-Mart site on Broadway?

This was already announced but I forgot what is replacing it. I think we discussed it on the site before but not sure. You may try searching to find more info.

[TheImmortal]

http://www.usland.com/Fox%20Lake%20Plaza.wmvhere is the link. Sorry I forgot it.

[jbrown84]

Thanks for the link, Immortal.

[Patrick]

You know Edmond will make them landscape the heck out of it. I wish OKC was as strict.

[Patrick]

I watched the video. Doesn't look any different from any other strip center. Looks just like Belle Isle Station or Quail Springs Market Place! Argh!

[Faith]

The picture of the Walmart above looks alot like the new Walmart in MWC across from Tinker AFB.

[jbrown84]

I watched the video. Doesn't look any different from any other strip center. Looks just like Belle Isle Station or Quail Springs Market Place! Argh!

I agree. And I loved how they showed the lake so much when it's going to be completely hidden by the strip mall. Why don't they do something unique like flip it around where the store fronts face the lake. THAT might be nice.

[Jack]

It's suburbia. What do you expect? I don't see how anyone can get excited about this.

[TheImmortal]

Lol true, but I go out that way quite a bit so it will be kind of nice to have a grocery store convenient to me, but all the same I wish more developments like the Spring Creek area would be built in Edmond and the metro as well. At least they are more appealing to the eye. Oh yes, I am sure there is a thread for this and some of you might have noticed, but Starbucks is one of the first tenants to go into the new Spring Creek Village. I am fairly dissapointed though, Starbucks used to be special, I don't even care these days.

[jbrown84]

Where did you see that about the Starbucks, Immortal? I drive by there constantly looking for a sign of what's going in there. Seems awfully close to the Starbucks locations in Target and at 2nd and Blackwelder.

[TheImmortal]

The actual sign is on the builing. If you drive by Bryant and 15th and look at the new building you can't miss it. I am also hoping one of the buildings will end up being a Barnes and Noble, I heard rumors that they were looking at Edmond. But who knows. I get alot of my info from here http://www.eeda.com/cgi-bin/NewsList.cgi I am always looking foreward to the next one. Also, I beleive Popeye's Chicken is coming to Edmond somewhere or another.

[Jack]

I am also hoping one of the buildings will end up being a Barnes and Noble, I heard rumors that they were looking at Edmond.

'
I can't get excited about Barnes and Noble. Just another big box chain store.

[jbrown84]

Oh please. Do you live in east Edmond like I do? If I can go to a really nice Barnes and Noble in Spring Creek Village five minutes away, rather than driving 15-20 minutes over to Quail Springs, I'm not complaining.

Maybe you'd prefer a Jack in the Box to go in there, since it's a high quality, delectable, locally owned establishment.

[TheImmortal]

No, I live right next to Edmond Santa Fe High School(West Edmond), but I would rather spend my tax dollars in Edmond than OKC, plus I hate dealing with traffic by Quail Spings.

[jbrown84]

I was talking to Jack.