[StBernard] Wal-Mart

[Westley Annis]

JD:  I do believe you are right about the land being owned by the Meraux
Foundation (M.F.)

I had heard/read, whatever that W.M. was trying to renegotiate the lease on
that property; and probably downward.  Is this true?  Who knows.

I read the statement by the W.M. spokesperson and it seemed he was playing
it pretty close to the vest as far as comments were concerned.   And there
is more going on than is being said.  Whether it's good or bad for SBP I
don't know.


>Remember all the hoop-la that if we had a super Wal-Mart it would bring in



>the lower 9th ward customers.


When they had the regular W.M. it brought in customers
from the 9th ward and so did Kmart in Meraux.  All you had to do 
was to look at the brake tags on cars in the parking lots.


>They are properly preparing to open

 a store in the NO

>East to service St. Bernard residents as well.


You could be right, but the location in the East would not seem
to be a big draw from the 9th ward.  That's a pretty good drive
and it would seem to make more sense that those folks would go
uptown to the W.M. there.

Only time will tell, once the clinic trailers are moved.  If
you don't see any activity in the lot at the Super W. That
would be a pretty good indication.

I've got to say though, it seems foolish that the parish govt.
added in an add'l 500k in sales tax revenue based on nothing
and they might want to revise their figures downward. Better to
be pleasantly surprised **if** the store reopens.

JL



	
	-----------------------------------------------------
	If I'm not mistaken, I read previously that the
	 property that the super
	Wal-Mart sits on is owned and being leased by the Meraux Foundation
to
	Wal-Mart. There was no reason that assessments of cost to repair
couldn't
	have been completed years ago.
	Remember all the hoop-la that if we had a super Wal-Mart it would
bring in
	the lower 9th ward customers.  Well, that's why it was built where
it was
	built. Boy how the mind set is. Residents were negative when the
initial
	proposal to build the store was introduced now the same people are
begging
	the store to return. How ironic.
	So back to the purchase of the land in NO east.  You don't need to
be a
	rocket scientist to know that Wal-mart has no intention to rebuild
in St
	Bernard at this time. They are properly preparing to open a store in
the NO
	East  to service St. Bernard residents as well.
	jd