It was a bleak period for St. Joseph’s retail landscape about five years ago.
Friends were talking about the shopping options.
“We’re supposed to be getting some new, upscale retail,” someone pointed out.
The reply came quick and sharp. “Probably a third Wal-Mart.”
The city is not in line for another supercenter — unless East Hills Shopping Center has lined up a new anchor store we haven’t heard about yet.
But there is a project in the works that could be related to Wal-Mart.
The Eastowne Business Park is a contender as a location for a distribution center. The warehouse would take up 90 acres and have 1 million square feet of building space.
Economic development policies of confidentiality prevent St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce officials from divulging the name of the company. When asked if it was Wal-Mart, they just said they couldn’t comment.
They did say the company was nationally recognized. That’s no indication that the warehouse would be related to the world’s largest retailer, but it does leave that possibility open.
A few years ago, Wal-Mart was looking for a warehouse location. Platte County, at the time, was said to be the prime candidate. That project obviously didn’t materialize.
Is the retail giant still looking for a distribution site in the Midwest? Only David Glass knows for sure.
The distribution center, whether it is Wal-Mart or not, would be a great boost to St. Joseph.
But at 90 acres, the center would eat up a big chunk of the 150-acre first phase of the Eastowne Park. Modern warehouses are largely automated and do not produce a large quantity of jobs, nor many high-paying jobs.
St. Joseph has put a lot of store in warehouses in recent years. A sweet location on Interstate 29 and U.S. Highway 36 give us an advantage.
Still, no industries come with guarantees these days. The Valley Food warehouse closed. Mead also shuttered its distribution center, but it gained new life last year from Hallmark.
Even Wal-Mart has taken a hit the last few months as customers reshape their buying habits around that big hole in their wallets created by $3 per gallon gas.
If St. Joseph lands this project, it would be a grand slam in Eastowne’s first at bat. The Chamber must have some confidence of getting a hit; outgoing chairman Rudy Wacker specifically mentioned the potential project in his speech at the annual banquet.
Business editor Susan Mires writes a weekly column.
