Everything's Coming Up Wal-Mart
Katie, bar the door and hide the women. Here comes Wal-Mart. Sam Walton’s corporate tribute to mass merchandising, economies of scale, and the largest importer of goods into the United States, is coming to Canfield, Ohio…or not.
In what appears to be one of the worst corporate real estate development decisions in modern times, Wal-Mart has decided to build one of its “Super Centers” on one of the busiest, most dangerous roads in Ohio, the State Route 224 Mahoning County corridor. It would face I-76, the Ohio Turnpike, for “exposure”. One small problem, there is no turnpike exit within 10 miles either way for anyone desiring to get to the store. State Route 11 would give it the closest freeway access, but traffic makes it almost inaccessible now, and any more construction would completely gridlock it from 3 -5 in the afternoon when it takes almost 30 minutes to drive less than a mile to the freeway.
Not only is the location convoluted, they want to build it 6 miles from the newly expanded Austintown super center store to the north, and 7 miles from the Boardman store to the east. West of Canfield is nothing but cornfields, and 10 miles to the south is the Salem store. That doesn’t account for the new super center store in Liberty Township, the north suburb of Youngstown. If you include Niles in Trumbull County, the proposed Canfield store would make for 6 Wal-Marts within a 15 mile radius of each other. Do you think the stores just might cannibalize each other?
This, in an area that is demographically aging, has among the lowest wages in the United States, has the most depressed real estate values in the United States, is losing population daily, and has just had one of its local television stations merged out of its local newcasts as the area has fallen out of the top 100 media markets.
They propose to build it in Canfield Township, which does not have its own police force. It is serviced by the Mahoning County Sheriff, who has indicated a reluctance to provide any more police protection than currently exists. For comparison, the Boardman Wal-Mart averages five hundred police calls per year to its facility. It is a magnet for gangs and crime. I will not shop there at night.
To build the store, Wal-Mart needs a zoning change. Last night, I attended the first of two meetings sponsored by Wal-Mart to plead its case. About 300 people crowded into the meeting venue. The only question was do you lynch the Wal-Mart people right away, or tar and feather them first. Unfortunately for Wal-Mart, its representatives were about as unprepared as could be, and could not answer the most rudimentary questions relating to traffic patterns and why so many stores are being located so close to each other.
The attendees were armed with stories, backed by facts and figures, of bullied tax abatements, broken promises of landscape buffers, illegal contract bidding squeezing out local contractors (the unions were there too, complaining about Wal-Mart), and no information at all about the amount of crime and needed police protection that has become associated with many of the Wal-Mart stores.
As to the traffic, the representative of the local county agency responsible for coordinating development efforts with state and local regulations, repeatedly stood up and stated the agency is NOT responsible for whatever decisions are ultimately made as to what traffic accommodations are actually constructed by Wal-Mart, the township, the county and/or state. In other words, don’t blame us.
In a tribute to seniors, the most vocal and persuasive participants were the feisty, senior citizen women, who made it abundantly clear they weren’t going to put up with any Wal-Mart crapola. It was capped by a lovely senior lady, who, when finally recognized to ask a question towards the end of the meeting, marched right up to the front of the room and grabbed the microphone out of the hand of the Wal-Mart rep. She then proceeded to lecture him about Wal-Mart's misdeeds, mano-a-mano, wagging her finger in front of his nose, to a cheering and applauding crowd. I don’t think she will be working as a Wal-Mart greeter in the new store.
In what appears to be one of the worst corporate real estate development decisions in modern times, Wal-Mart has decided to build one of its “Super Centers” on one of the busiest, most dangerous roads in Ohio, the State Route 224 Mahoning County corridor. It would face I-76, the Ohio Turnpike, for “exposure”. One small problem, there is no turnpike exit within 10 miles either way for anyone desiring to get to the store. State Route 11 would give it the closest freeway access, but traffic makes it almost inaccessible now, and any more construction would completely gridlock it from 3 -5 in the afternoon when it takes almost 30 minutes to drive less than a mile to the freeway.
Not only is the location convoluted, they want to build it 6 miles from the newly expanded Austintown super center store to the north, and 7 miles from the Boardman store to the east. West of Canfield is nothing but cornfields, and 10 miles to the south is the Salem store. That doesn’t account for the new super center store in Liberty Township, the north suburb of Youngstown. If you include Niles in Trumbull County, the proposed Canfield store would make for 6 Wal-Marts within a 15 mile radius of each other. Do you think the stores just might cannibalize each other?
This, in an area that is demographically aging, has among the lowest wages in the United States, has the most depressed real estate values in the United States, is losing population daily, and has just had one of its local television stations merged out of its local newcasts as the area has fallen out of the top 100 media markets.
They propose to build it in Canfield Township, which does not have its own police force. It is serviced by the Mahoning County Sheriff, who has indicated a reluctance to provide any more police protection than currently exists. For comparison, the Boardman Wal-Mart averages five hundred police calls per year to its facility. It is a magnet for gangs and crime. I will not shop there at night.
To build the store, Wal-Mart needs a zoning change. Last night, I attended the first of two meetings sponsored by Wal-Mart to plead its case. About 300 people crowded into the meeting venue. The only question was do you lynch the Wal-Mart people right away, or tar and feather them first. Unfortunately for Wal-Mart, its representatives were about as unprepared as could be, and could not answer the most rudimentary questions relating to traffic patterns and why so many stores are being located so close to each other.
The attendees were armed with stories, backed by facts and figures, of bullied tax abatements, broken promises of landscape buffers, illegal contract bidding squeezing out local contractors (the unions were there too, complaining about Wal-Mart), and no information at all about the amount of crime and needed police protection that has become associated with many of the Wal-Mart stores.
As to the traffic, the representative of the local county agency responsible for coordinating development efforts with state and local regulations, repeatedly stood up and stated the agency is NOT responsible for whatever decisions are ultimately made as to what traffic accommodations are actually constructed by Wal-Mart, the township, the county and/or state. In other words, don’t blame us.
In a tribute to seniors, the most vocal and persuasive participants were the feisty, senior citizen women, who made it abundantly clear they weren’t going to put up with any Wal-Mart crapola. It was capped by a lovely senior lady, who, when finally recognized to ask a question towards the end of the meeting, marched right up to the front of the room and grabbed the microphone out of the hand of the Wal-Mart rep. She then proceeded to lecture him about Wal-Mart's misdeeds, mano-a-mano, wagging her finger in front of his nose, to a cheering and applauding crowd. I don’t think she will be working as a Wal-Mart greeter in the new store.
As for the rest of us last night, God Bless America. Democracy in action is wonderful. The Township Trustees stood up meekly and showed themselves upon request. Ah, the courage of conviction. (In a followup meeting, Trustee William Reese announced he would not vote for the zoning change. He is true to his promises. Hats off to him.) My bet: it will be a cold day in hell before there is a Wal-Mart in Canfield.
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