Walmart grocery store agreement OK'd

The Common Council unanimously approved a developer's agreement Tuesday that will allow Walmart to open a neighborhood market in the former Jewel-Osco building at 124th Street and Capitol Drive.

The agreement states that Walmart must keep its grocery offerings within 38,500 square feet of space and is prohibited from expanding its store into the remaining 25,000 square feet, City Attorney Alan Kesner said during an interview. That other square footage will be split into up to three other retail spaces.

The document also lists types of businesses the city will not allow to go into the additional retail spaces - including cigarette shops, coin-op laundries and secondhand stores.

Another clause prohibits RVs and campers from parking overnight there, a practice that is allowed at some Walmart stores around the country, Kesner said.

When the store opens it will be a 24-hour grocery store with a pharmacy inside. It will be significantly smaller in size than the traditional Walmart general merchandise or Super Walmart stores.

The developer has a contract to purchase the 5.5 acres and perform major rehab on the existing building as well as improvements and landscaping to the massive parking lot. Plans have been making their way through the city's Design Review Board.