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| An example of exterior of Walmart Market |
At Monday night's Snellville City Council meeting, the council voted 4-2 to approve a new neighborhood grocery store in the vacant RV dealership space located at Hwy 78 and Cambridge Road. "Not only will this stimulate revitalization at the gateway to our City but it will also bring 75 permanent jobs," Snellville Council Member Tom Witts said. "Great things are happening in Snellville, despite the current economy."
Council members Kelly Kautz and Mike Sabbagh opposed the Walmart Neighborhood Market. The market is owned and run by Walmart, but is not a regular Walmart or SuperCenter type store. It's a grocery store with a pharmacy. The store is only going to be about 1/4 the size of a typical Walmart Super Center.
Personally, I think a grocery store there is a great idea. I know some of the homeowners in the area aren't pleased about it. I can tell you from personal experience that when a CVS Pharmacy was built near my house, I wasn't very pleased about that. But now that it's there, I have been continually amazed by how often I need it and use it. The grocery stores that we used to have on Highway 78 (Kroger, a Super Target, & a Food Lion) have moved to Scenic Highway or closed. As you probably know, the traffic at certain times of day on Scenic Highway makes getting to the grocery stores over there difficult. Sometimes I drive to Loganville or Centerville to go grocery shopping, because dealing with traffic can be such a pain.
Now think about driving into Snellville from Stone Mountain. There's kind of an abysmal business dead zone there. Some car dealerships, but otherwise things have looked pretty run down in that area. THAT IS THE FIRST IMPRESSION someone visiting Snellville gets, and we need to make that impression the best we can.
You are probably not as aware of the image it sends out as I am, because through my Twitter account, I receive questions and comments from residents and visitors. I have received messages from people concerned about the run down look as they drove into Snellville. I once spent about 20 minutes back and forth, convincing a worried visitor via Twitter that Snellville is thriving, he just didn't see it on the highway.
So I was able to convince that 1 person, but only after at least 2-3 tweets went out to his followers what a shame it was that Snellville had gone downhill. That is a public relations nightmare.
People driving into Snellville may not turn left onto Scenic Highway to see all the growth and new construction! A bright new store greeting drivers will indeed show that despite the economy, Snellville is a growing, happening place.
"When faced with 50 homeowners who believe that their investment in their home is being threatened it is difficult to look past those in attendance and do what you believe is the right thing for the community. It is VERY easy to say no to the developer and appease the people in front of you," Witts said. "As I stated at the meeting, I have to think of all the citizens in Snellville and for what is good for the entire City. We had the opportunity to take a dilapidated property, at the front door of our City, and redevelop it into a neighborhood grocery," Witts continued, "This also brings 75 new jobs to our City,that is 75 of our neighbors/families that will now have employment that would have been denied them if we had not passed the re-zoning."
So, if you live over by the Walmart Market, take heart and give it a chance. I realize you probably have some of the same concerns I had about Quik Trip and CVS. In today's busy world, home buyers see convenient shopping and a pharmacy as a positive, not a negative. My concerns have vanished. Snellville Police protection is excellent, and I think you will find that the market enhances your life. I'm kind of envious of you actually, I'd rather have the Walmart Market than the CVS. I know you will have better prices.
Related links/updates:
Improvements coming to Hwy 78/Cambridge/McGee Road Intersection (January 2011)
Snellville receives more press coverage due to Walmart Neighborhood Market
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