Yes, another Walmart
By Garry Popp and Steve Herring
Published in News on May 16, 2012 1:46 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Plans to erect a Walmart Express in Pikeville are in the works, officials say.
The mega retailer is expected to begin construction of the store, which will include a fueling station and pharmacy, in June at a site on U.S. 117 south of Main Street and north of the Food Lion supermarket.
Town Administrator Kathie Fields has issued preliminary permits and said residents could find themselves perusing the aisles as soon as September.
Mrs. Fields said the Walmart Express will be a scaled-down version compared to the other Walmarts in Wayne County.
She said about 80 percent of the merchandise in the nearly 14,000- square-foot Express version will be grocery goods.
Along with convenience to town residents and discounted goods offered at the store, she added that the retailer will help boost the town's tax revenue base and be a customer of Pikeville's utility producers.
She said the building is expected to cost about $800,000 to build, and that the costs will be nearly the same to construct the fueling station and canopy.
The building plans have been received by the Wayne County Inspections Department and the county Planning Department has the storm-water runoff plans.
"We will review the plans and make sure that they are up to the North Carolina building codes and fire codes," said Steve Stroud of the county inspections department. "All of the Pikeville stuff comes through us."
Stroud said the plans did not yet have an address for the building.
Once the plans are approved, the next step will be to apply to the county for the necessary building permits, Stroud said.
County Planner Connie Price said it was his understanding that the building would be about the size of a stand-alone Family Dollar or Dollar General Store.
The next step, Price said, is for his office to review the storm-water runoff plans.
Walmart built similar Express stores last spring. One of the stores opened in October in Snow Hill.