November 15, 2002

Wal-Mart is pushing a hot button with its choice for the location of its first SuperCenter in Onondaga County: the same site in Salina where a proposal for a truck stop was stopped when the neighborhood rallied against it.

Wal-Mart representatives will present site plans for the 204,000-square-foot megastore to the Salina planning board on Thursday, said Mary Ann Schadt, the town's supervisor.

The location is on 37 acres on Oswego Road (Route 57) at the Liverpool Bypass, the same place where Flying J wanted to build a truck service and restaurant plaza just north of Thruway interchange 38. Flying J was shut out by the planning board and community opposition earlier this year.

The main entrance for the Wal-Mart would be off Oswego Road; a second entrance would be off the bypass.

Wal-Mart has been scouting locations in the northern suburbs to build its first SuperCenter in the county. A Wal-Mart SuperCenter combines a typical Wal-Mart discount department store with a full-service supermarket.

Schadt said she wants to wait until Wal-Mart presents its plan before commenting.

"It's a little bit of a surprise to me," said Schadt. "I heard at one point a rumor that Wal-Mart was interested in looking at the property where Flying J wanted to come in. Then I didn't hear anything more about it. Then I read the planning board agenda, and Wal-Mart is on it. I plan on attending that meeting to see exactly what they are proposing."

The plan also needs approval of the town board.

Flying J spent three years trying to get a truck stop built at that location. A coalition of local citizens fought back, claiming the truck stop would, among other things, have a negative impact on traffic, air quality and community character.

The immediate issues Wal-Mart has to address are traffic and drainage, said Bernard English, the town planning and development director.

The company submitted an environmental assessment form and conceptual plans. If the initial applications are in order for the planning board meeting, Wal-Mart will submit a formal application. He said Wal-Mart wants approval on the site plan and the environmental issues.

The property is owned by Ajemian Properties, LLC, in Liverpool. The area is commercially zoned.

According to Wal-Mart's application, the store would need 1,134 parking spaces. Twenty spaces exist on the street. No more than 425 vehicles a day are expected to go into the parking lot. The building would be 30 feet high, 384 feet wide and 615 feet long.

Construction would take eight months and would generate 75 jobs during construction; after the store is built, 450 jobs will be created, the application states.

The SuperCenter would generate 150 tons of solid waste, which would be disposed of through the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency. The SuperCenter would use 6,700 gallons of water a day.

The store wouldn't elevate the noise level for neighbors, the application states.

Wal-Mart is attempting to get SuperCenters created in the northern, eastern and western suburbs.

In August, Wal-Mart opened its newest SuperCenter and the one closest to Onondaga County. It's a 157,000-square-foot store in Central Square, just off of Interstate 81.

Wal-Mart had considered expanding its Clay store, but backed off on those plans in 2000. It had also considered building a SuperCenter at Great Northern Mall but changed its mind.

It had also been looking at the old North Drive-In property, as well as other locations in the northern suburbs.

Wal-Mart is also considering building a SuperCenter on the former Camillus Mall property and is looking for a location in the eastern suburbs. Both would replace stores already operating.