Walmart officials are not saying what will occupy this building, or how many new jobs would be created. But some Walmart shoppers say this area is overdue for a supercenter.
Business is steady even on a Thursday morning at the Walmart on west Shaw. Bobby Beach and his mother like the prices and selection at Walmart, but they prefer the variety offered at supercenters. "I'm loving that idea, we just moved here, so were looking for one place to save on gas to get everything done in one trip, so I think it's a great idea."
The existing Walmart is across the street, and east of the location the retail giant just purchased. According to property records, the sale was recorded on February 1st.
The purchase price was not disclosed in the sale, but Walmart paid $8,415 in transfer tax, so the purchase price was about $7,650,000.
Walmart did not return calls for comment about plans for the site, the building is on 18 acres of land and is nearly 224 thousand square feet.
Some shoppers say they would welcome a bigger store, since the current one gets so crowded, and doesn't offer quite the selection they would like.
"A lot more groceries and a lot more better items that they don't have here in the store," Laquandra Kinchen said. "Better than me going way out to Sanger to buy to purchase the Walmart items I'm looking for. I can just go right here."
"Oh the pharmacy, too," Beach said. "So it's sort of a one stop shop place, we call it wally world because it has a lot of stuff we normally get."
A supercenter could also add jobs. An average Walmart in the Central Valley employees 350 people, and a supercenter employees about 500.
Another supercenter is under construction right now in Clovis. It's expected to be complete sometime next year.
