[Redhead 18]

Published 10/18/2007

The city of Garden City should soon up its status as a regional economic hub.

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Wal-Mart's Sam's Club announced its intentions to come to Garden City this morning at an Area Planning Commission meeting.

The 100,000-square-foot store will be located west of the Home Depot and behind the AmericInn on Kansas Avenue.

Terence L. Haynes, with SMC Consulting Engineers, who is working on the project for Wal-Mart, said if all goes as planned, store construction could be complete by mid-to-late 2008. The Sam Club's building design will be the first of its kind in the country, he said, being an estimated 30,000 square-feet smaller than other stores. All the details of the design have yet to be worked out, he said.

The daytime store will specialize in its large, bulk distribution and have a gas station on its 16.5-acre property.

Once complete, Garden City will tout the only Sam's Club in at least a 200-mile radius, with the nearest store locations in Wichita, Amarillo, Texas, and Pueblo, Colo.

Haynes said the Wal-Mart development team has been looking at Garden City, its demographics and the area, for about two years. The store should draw rural customers throughout rural Kansas and Colorado, he said.

"There's plenty of population out there to support a wholesale store," he said, adding that Wal-Mart is known for extensively studying the local market before announcing its intentions to locate in a city.

City Manager Bob Halloran said the planning process thus far has gone smoothly and all involved are working together. The city has been working on plans at the site for a few months, he said.

"This is one of those retail expansions that will be a benefit for the entire community," Halloran said. "This is one of those draws to the community that we've been desirous of in previous developments."

Officially, the planning commission approved rezoning a portion of the land to make way for the membership-only warehouse club. The rezoning request must now be approved by the Garden City Commission and is set to appear on its Nov. 6 agenda.

Halloran said Wal-Mart has asked little of the city and is extending adjacent future access and frontage roads, including Leslie and Larue Road at its own expense.

The city has agreed to move water, sewer and electric utilities to make way for the construction. The work will cost about $160,000, he said.

Engineer Haynes said he expects the store to bring additional development, particularly restaurants, to Garden City, but he said no specific chains tend to follow Sam's Club stores.

The Sam's Club store is being built with room to expand if successful, Haynes said. The 400-slot parking lot will be "softened" with trees and other landscaping, he said.

While he didn't know exactly, Haynes estimated the store would employ about 100 people.

Kaleb Kentner, the city's planning director, told the planning commission the developer has addressed the city's concerns, including litter control.

While the small versus big box store debate may surface, Chamber President Carol Meyer said Sam's Club will be a draw to the community, and local retailers can take advantage.

"It represents an opportunity and a challenge. We'll be on the map for different kinds of businesses than other communities around us," Meyer said.

Challenges will include finding enough employees and determining how the store will affect the market share of existing stores.

Said Meyer: "Growth is good. Growth is a sign the economy is strong and getting stronger, and we just have to work that much harder to make sure all sectors of the community stay strong."