No more rubber stamps for the retail giant?
Cudahy rejects Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal - JSOnline:
By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 3, 2008 11:08 a.m.
A Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for Cudahy ran into a big roadblock Tuesday night when the Common Council voted against approving the framework for the project's development agreement.
Council members rejected a proposed "memorandum of understanding" between the city and developer Continental Properties Co.
Approving the memorandum would pave the way for a more detailed development agreement with Continental, which wants to build the Cudahy Station retail development on 26 acres, south of E. Layton Ave., between S. Nicholson Ave. and Sweet Applewood Lane. The development would be anchored by the 134,000-square-foot Supercenter, a combined supermarket and discount store.
The project isn't necessarily dead as a result of the vote. But, as the delays pile up, "the less likely it is to happen," said Steve Wagner, Continental's vice president for retail leasing.
"We're evaluating all of our options," Wagner said today. A Wal-Mart executive couldn't be immediately reached for comment.
Ald. Mary Schissel said she voted against the memorandum because her constituents told her they didn't want a Wal-Mart, partly due to objections they had over the retailer's wages.
"They didn't see it as an improvement," she said.
Continental's original plan included development of an indoor soccer training academy operated by the Milwaukee Wave soccer team. But plans for the soccer facility have been delayed, with Continental seeking to begin construction next summer on the Supercenter.
The project site is home to the failed Iceport indoor skating complex.
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