Wal-Mart buys Expo site

[dmillsphoto]

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2010/10/11/walmart_latest_100_oaks_inmover

I know a lot are seeing this as a positive and brings a much-needed injection of retail to the Berry Hill area, but honestly I'm disappointed. I would have much preferred to see Ikea come in, built the center up another level, and setup shop.

[jice]

I second the disappointment.. i'd like to see Ikea as well.. but just about anything besides Walmart would be great.

This very likely means the fairly new urban looking Pinnacle bank across Thompson Lane is going to look severely out of place... with what is sure to be an influx of suburban retail.

[jice]

So this is supposed to be a 'smaller, urban version' of Walmart... according to the Tennessean. Still, it's a Walmart.. which makes me sad.

[FromParkAveToTN]

I HATE Wal-Mart. This is one company that I would love to see crumble. Do we have to have so many of them? Wal-Mart is like a cancer. It eats up all the mom and pop stores and their merchandise and clientele are less than desirable. The one time I did go to Wal-Mart, I didn't see any Prada, Gucci, or D&G merchandise.

[jice]

Wal-Mart is like a cancer. It eats up all the mom and pop stores

Which unfortunately could mean Berry Hill will lose some of its character... such as what is found on Bransford Ave currently.

[nashbill]

I don't like Wal-Mart either, but the "clientele are less than desirable" remark is just not justified. My mom shops there all the time. I have never thought of her as less than desirable clientele. Not everyone wants or can afford Prada, Gucci or D&G merchandise.

Wal-Mart saturation here is just rediculous. There are 3 I can think of that are 5 miles or less from my house.

The thing I dislike most about them is the way companies will kiss there ass to get there products in the store. They are to powerful. People who shop there probably don't realize the stuff that is sold there is all made in China in factories that used to be here and they may have have worked for the co. that made the item. An example, a battery company based here in the USA sold there batteries to Wal-Mart. WM made up 50% of there sales. When negotiating for a price increase from the manufacturer, Wal-Mart threatened to take them off the shelf and not sell there batteries any more. The company caved into there demands. All the rest of the stores got hit with a price increase and Wal-Mart did not. After several years of this. The company moved manufacturing to China. Many people have lost decent paying jobs. So, where are these folks today. Working and shopping at United States of Wal-Mart. Yes "don't like" is not powerful enough, I "hate" Wal-Mart.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

Wal-Mart is the new face of American Life. The "I want it cheap and I want it now" mentality is the way many Americans think. Forget quality. Forget local business owners. Forget sustainability. Its all based on greed, profitability, and speed of distribution. That's my .02.

I'll keep the thread open until it gets out of hand. Its okay to discuss the dislike of Wal-Mart, but lets keep it connected to the built environment.

With that being said, many years ago the State of Vermont disallowed Wal-Mart in the state because of Wal-Mart's disregard for good architecture and design. That may have changed, but many cities have kept them out with demands for good architecture. Metro Government should set architectural guidelines for mass retailers including traffic flow and design as well as pedestrian space and sidewalks. www.cyburbia.org has had some good discussions about shopping mall planning and design, but it all comes down to how many parking spaces do they have which means how many customers can they get at one time.

The problem is that people keep going in the stores. Most Americans do not care about architecture and design as long as they can get the junk they think they need. We are far form a minimalist society where we value life and freedom over material junk. Again just my.02.

BR86

[nashbill]

Apologies for the rant.

[jice]

I just don't get it....

I've tried over and over to convince my family to stop shopping at Walmart, mostly due to environmental concerns related to suburban sprawl.. but they eventually go back to Walmart.. and continue to shop there for 80% of what they need for day to day life.

Sometimes it seems hopeless to me...

I wish people would wake up and realize what they're doing to America by skipping the mom and pop stores, local restaurants, walkable neighborhoods, etc.. but.. sigh..

[MTSUBlueraider86]

'nashbill' said: "Apologies for the rant."

No problem, I have been guilty of those myself!

BR86

[nashbill]

I have always thought that roads in that area are layed out very bizarre. I guess the interstates forced what happened there. Or I have just not gone there very much. The Design Center was a big box, but would never have the amount of traffic that a Wal-Mart would have. I see massive amounts of cars added to already congested roads. I agree that an IKEA would work well there. I've been to the ones in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Charlotte Same amount of traffic as the Design Center although Pittsbrgh IKEA is now surronded by other retail. IKEA tends to not build closer to the inner city. But that blue and yellow is really ugly. I suppose it doesn't matter now. Too bad.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

It seems Nashville still has a "take what we can get" mentality rather than demanding better retailers, better architecture, and better planning. I do not know much about IKEA, however I would appreciate another retailer other than Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and the like. Nashville does get stuck in complacency rather than moving forward.

Remember the supposed retail czar Metro hired to bring retail downtown? What happened to this person? Even before the recession this person seemed lackadasial about the job and many first floor leases are still unfuffilled downtown.

When I was in Jacksonville, Fl., a couple of years ago in January for a wedding, the shopping mall called The Landings down by the water in the middle of the CBD was busy! This was on a Sunday! Stores Like like IKEA would be great along West End. It would be nice if West End Summit actually became an area of high end retailers along West End like Buckhead in Atlanta or the Michigan Mile in Chicago.

That would be something.

BR86

[jice]

Remember the supposed retail czar Metro hired to bring retail downtown? What happened to this person?

I think she still works for metro.. her twitter account has some recent updates at least

https://twitter.com/RetailCrissy

Speaking of which.. there's a couple things to add to the downtown retail thread

[MTSUBlueraider86]

I pinned the retail thread and Jice, thanks for the Retail Czars twitter page. Great information!

Thanks,

BR86

[jice]

No problem

[nashvillwill]

I share similar feeling about Wal-mart, but i would be lying if i said i never shop there. I do try to keep it to a minimum, but sometimes my budget constraints require the savings.

As far as design, i think there are good and bad examples in town. The one that was built a few years back near the corner of nolensville & Old Hickory is a good example. It is a result of community pressures, but it's still a decent building. They didn't completely rape the landscape, they left patches of old trees here and there. There is a creek running across the property, which they built over and left exposed. They also diverted their runoff away from the creek. The parking lot is about 30-40% pervious concrete which helps with runoff. The building itself has many skylights and fluorescent lighting that turns itself off when not needed. The parking lot is a manageable size.

A bad example is new one on Dickerson Pike near Briley Pkwy/I-65. The completely leveled a beautiful hill. They clear-cut all siqns of life for about 50 acres. The street design is poor, the parking lot is absurdly large, so large in fact that it would be uncomfortable to walk across. Water runoff will be an issue for surrounding neighborhoods. From what i can tell, the building does not have a lighting efficiency control system like the Nolensville Rd store. It's very disheartening that a community would allow something like this.

I don't like walmart, they only build responsibly when forced to. I look highly on cities like Chicago which have banned them in city limits. I hope that Nashville never allows one any closer to the core than already built. I don't like the rumors i am hearing about Walmart convenience stores. However, it's a reality we have to face, but there is proof that we can at least make sure these things are done as best as possible.

[Guest]

A rant and then a relevant post -

I am a litte disappointed at the comments in this thread.. and I rarely shop at Walmart... not normally a fan of the merchandise.

Not the ones condemning Walmart..... to each his/her own. It is the comments supporting barring Walmart from Nashville......

Walmart serves an economic purpose both Micro and Macro... and is it ever went under the ripples would rip through the US economy.

It employees over 1,800,000 people..... The low prices you are complaining about keep the prices of other area retailers in check. You may pay more but it is within reason. Have you been to a target not close to a Walmart? Big difference. Similar to the effect Southwest has on airfares when they enter a market...

Again, I am all for good architecture and codes...when it is done to enhance and not exclude based on bigotry. Someone brought up Chicago banning Walmart. It was a stupid decision. The store opened just outside the city limits and the city forfeited all the sales tax revenue..... last I read they were -654,0000,0000 for this year's budget.... but hey no Walmart. Yea!

As one that lives downtown with a family I look forward to visiting the new (and hopefully improved, hopefully mini, more urban version. We go to the area for movies, car servcie, home improvement and family medical visits already so this could be a good fit.

[MTSUBlueraider86]

Good post by Todd! Yes, Wal-mart does employ almost 2 million people and they do keep prices in check. My brother-in-law has been with them almost 18 years because the small town he lives in, Tullahoma, does not have many employment options. I hope the architecture of this building is fit with green tchnology and sustainable materials. In keeping this a built environment thread, we will leave it there.

I have no problem with them building, however it is their reputation too in selling lower quality products and paying low wages. With that being said we could have a demographic, sociological, cultural, labor, and economics discussion about this for years and get nowhere.

With that being said, we all agree we would like some decent architecture that fits in well within the urban core and not the traditional gray suburban box they are known for.

I am closing the thread. There is not much left to comment on retail architecture. Thanks to all who posted in a civil manner.

BR86