Press release confuses site of Palmyra’s Wal-Mart store

PALMYRA – Although Wal-Mart’s Arkansas headquarters appears a little confused about where the major retailer will be building a new mid-Maine store, the Palmyra Wal-Mart looks like it will open for business in the spring of 1994.

A press release distributed in a package of Wal-Mart promotional material announced the store opening in Newport. Permit applications, public hearings and all other data on the sote, however, indicate a site in Palmyra on Route 2, just begind Lovley’s Motel.

Represntatives of engineering firms hired to pave the way for store construction already have appeared before Palmyra boards, and received permission from Newport water and sewer districts to bring services across the town and county lines.

But Wal-Mart President and Chief Executive Officer David Glass announced, “We are truly pleased to be able to provide our quality merchandise and our everyday low prices to all of the people of Newport.” The press release repeatedly refers the project as “the Newport store.”

Jane Arend in Wal-Mart’s Arkansas public relations department, however, said she was unsure why the release designated Newport as the construction site, and said she would contact Wal-Mart’s real estate division for clarification.

The release confirms that the store will employ 185 people and construction will begin in several months. A grand opening of the 75,000-square-foot facility is expected in the spring of 1994. The facility also will include a garden center and pharmacy, said the release.

Vinal Applebee of James Sewall Inc., the engineering firm in charge of the project, said that Department of Environmental Protection officials informed him on Thursday that a draft order for a final permit has been completed.

A few concerns about traffic as expressed by the Maine Department of Transportation will need to be addressed, said Applebee, but it appears that all permits needed for the project have been completed.

Although Wal-Mart’s release stated that no construction costs are available, the project’s DEP permit indicated a $5 million financing package for the Palmyra location had been granted by the Bank of Boston.

Wal-Mart operates 1,853 retail stores, 256 SAM’s Club stores, four Wal-Mart Hypermart USA units and 21 major distribution centers across the United States and Puerto Rico.

The company reported sales of $43.9 billion for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 1992.