Super WalMart plans on hold

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

Caldwell County residents will have to wait a little longer for the much-anticipated Super WalMart to break ground, City Manager Vance Rodgers announced this week.
Rodgers said he received notice on Friday about the Bentonville, Ark.-based conglomerate putting plans for 79 stores, including the Lockhart store, on hold te

mporarily.
“The main reason given was the current, unstable stock market conditions,” he said. “Other contributing factors for this site were the turn lane and paving requirements by TxDOT and attorneys wanting more assurance about downstream drainage issues.”
Rodgers said on Tuesday he had received confirmation that project engineers had been instructed to “get the project ready,” indicating that as soon as issues with TxDOT and the attorneys are resolved, construction may be ready to begin. However, he said, the projected opening date would be a year after groundbreaking, because it takes nearly a year to complete construction and stock the store for opening.
“We will continue to communicate with the contact they have provided us and offer assistance,” Rodgers said in a written statement. “WalMart is still scheduled next week to have their final plat reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and they have known for some time that there appear to be no problems with it.”
Rodgers also noted that the wet weather over the last several months has not helped engineers complete site testing, but he is still confident the project will move forward.