A second Walmart is in the works for Lebanon following a positive recommendation by the city鈥檚 planning commission on Aug. 27.
The new location would be on Highway 109, south of Interstate 40.
鈥淭hey began looking into that area over a year ago,鈥 Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an area that鈥檚 really begun to grow commercially with the Publix development that鈥檚 there. Walmart鈥檚 decided that this is a good location for their store. They looked at several pieces of property and settled on this one.鈥
Walmart鈥檚 existing Lebanon store is located at 615 S. Cumberland St.
鈥淭he current Walmart is Lebanon鈥檚 top sales tax producer,鈥 Bell said. 鈥淲e believe the addition of this one is going to not only add to our revenue stream, help us provide services to the citizens but also provide citizens with another place to shop.鈥
Bell said the store will be one of Walmart鈥檚 new store models. According to Bell, the store will have a big economic impact on the city.
鈥淗ighway 109 is a regional corridor,鈥 Bell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Tennessee Department of Transportation road, so a there鈥檚 a lot of people traveling that road from other parts of the state and other parts of the country as well. This is an opportunity for us to get sales tax dollars from people who will stop at Walmart, buy things there and then go home somewhere else.鈥
The new location will also benefit residents on the west side of town, Bell says.
鈥淔or people who live on the west side of town, it鈥檚 difficult sometimes to get to the east side,鈥 Bell said. 鈥淭his will be convenient for a lot of people that live in town to be able to go to Walmart.鈥
According to Bell, the reaction to the addition of a second Walmart has been positive.
鈥淭his passed unanimously through the planning commission, so there was a lot of support there,鈥 Bell said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of support from people who live on the west side of town to be able to shop there and not have to go somewhere else. Everything鈥檚 been positive and I think that the addition of Walmart 鈥 plus the addition of Sam鈥檚 Club on South Hartmann Drive 鈥 we鈥檙e creating two commercial corridors that can only grow in the future and bring in more stores that people want.鈥
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