|
|
||
National, regional preservation groups come out swinging against retail center, anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter, proposed at The Wilderness Date published: 8/22/2008
By CLINT SCHEMMER Preservation groups have fired the opening salvo of a battle over development proposed in the Wilderness battlefield area. The newly formed Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has informed Wal-Mart that it opposes its plan to build a 142,000-square-foot Supercenter near State Routes 3 and 20. On Wednesday, the trust e-mailed a "Take Action!" bulletin to its 20,000-plus activists and friends, urging them to write Wal-Mart President and CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. and express their views. "This is just the wrong project at the wrong place at the wrong time," Civil War Preservation Trust spokesman Jim Campi said yesterday. "This kind of commercial development is absolutely incompatible with a battlefield park. "Our principal concern is that this will create a mushroom effect and development is going to explode in that very sensitive Route 3 and Route 20 region, if this is allowed to proceed." The nonprofit trust, headquartered in Washington, has joined forces with the Piedmont Environmental Council, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, and the Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields to create the coalition. Wal-Mart proposes to build a 141,487-square-foot store on about 15 acres of a 50-acre tract just north of Route 3, according to local officials. The parcel extends from Wilderness Run at the Spotsylvania County line toward Vaucluse Road, wrapping around a 7-Eleven, a Wachovia Bank branch and the Wilderness Center strip mall. Another group has proposed a 1.65 million-square-foot retail, office and government complex, named Wilderness Crossing, on 846 acres adjacent to the planned Wal-Mart site. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs confirmed yesterday afternoon that the world's largest company intends to build on the smaller site in concert with developer JDC Ventures of Vienna. "Wal-Mart is continuing our due diligence, and hopes to submit an application to the county within the next few weeks," Hobbs said. "We've been working with county staff for some months on design criteria in hopes our project will be consistent with the look and feel of Orange County."
Date published: 8/22/2008
Orange County could probably use a Walmart since they have little in the way of a major shopping center. But are you insane? I just visitied the area and it is pristine and supports the idea of hallowed ground. To out that there would be ridiculous as well as just plain wrong. I hope the coalition sees this through and defeats it. with a 1% annual growth rate for the area, I can only hope this is turned down by the county planning commission.
Don't let it happen there for gos sake.
Doc
than that flippin Sheetz and it's bright lights. Aesthetics?? Why was that not brought up when Sheetz and McDonald's went in? Ferry Farm Wal-Mart is only a half mile away from Ferry Farm and it's well off the road just like this one will be. This is needed for Orange, it will bring jobs, albeit low paying but it's a job close to home and a huge tax base increase. Rt. 20 will never be widened to 4 lanes, not enough people will sellout to give VDOT enough right of way.
WalMart got moved at Ferry Farm - not told they were not wanted.
The current proposed site has a Sheetz, McDonalds, 7-11 and other strip shopping.
Yes - WalMart will have a bigger footprint but the question is - what is this really about?
Is it about WalMart or is it about history?
You can move a WalMart if you get the right folks in the room to figure out a better path forward but if this is really about whacking on Walmart (or the folks who shop at Walmart) then we need more clarity here.
The next thing will be making a divided out of Rt 20 so the shoppers from South Orange will not have to travel an overly congested highway so they can do their shopping 24 hrs a day.
It is unimaginable now, but Walmart wanted to build right over Ferry Farm. Citizens, don't let this happen again.
There is no need for yet another Walmart, much less right near treasured historic sites.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
