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| Photo credit Chicago Real Estate Daily, from the story it did earlier this month when the former Recycled Paper Greetings property was sold |
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning a second location in the Lakeview area, this one a convenience-store-sized Wal-Mart Express about five blocks east of Wrigley Field. The retail giant has signed a lease and recently filed a building permit for interior construction of a 14,086-square-foot store at 3636 N. Broadway.Read the whole article in Chicago Real Estate Daily, here.
[...] Alderman James Cappleman (46th), whose ward includes 3636 N. Broadway, says he heard about the deal from residents at a community meeting last week and was first contacted by Wal-Mart on Tuesday afternoon, after Crain's initial inquiry. 'One of my concerns is I'm just now finding out about it.' "
Will surely be a excellent addition to the ward. Can`t wait to shop it.
ReplyDeleteNOBODY should shop at Wal-Mart. This is NOT what the 46th ward needs.
ReplyDeleteRight on Nathan!
ReplyDeleteGo watch the documentary "WAL-MART: the high cost of low price".
ReplyDeleteMight change your attitudes about this superstore chain!
They will NEVER get a penny of mine or my fiances, and that goes for Target as well...
ReplyDeleteTry watching the season 5 episode of Penn & Teller: B.S.! that deals with Wal-Mart and then please rethink the irrational and ill informed hate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-o1fj1rX7A
UGH, Wiseguy, I'm in agreement with you that this is a great addition to the ward. And the company has a great reputation in how it treats its LGBT employees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/us/wal-mart-sets-a-new-policy-that-protects-gay-workers.html
Mr. Spevman,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the wonton bashing speech being uncalled for. But there are also rational reasons to oppose Wal-Mart and their unique corporate culture.
While I myself enjoy Penn & Teller they are hardly a credible source, it was difficult to determine with the frenetic editing waht was their research methodology anymore then that of the ridiculed subjects.
May I recommend... in the spirit of informed opinion, this video from the PBS Frontline series. It was done very professionally and in an ethical manner,all are welcome to draw their own conclusions.
There certainly is more to the story.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/
The Wilson Yard Target is 203,000 square feet. This Express Wal Mart is going to be 14,000 square feet. The typical Walgreens is about 14,000 square feet.
ReplyDeleteNow they made a mistake in not informing the Capplemaniac of their plans, but unless he wants a long drawn out and costly legal battle Mini Wal Mart is coming to north Broadway.
The battle over Wal Mart in Chicago has been won by Wal Mart.
My suggestion to those of you who oppose it is simple. Don't shop there. Freedom means that sometimes people do things or shop at place you may not approve of. As the Irish say "C'est La Vie".
Pick your battles carefully because this war has already been fought and won.
One less empty store front.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad more jobs and more shopping options are coming to our ward.
I'll shop there too.
This does finally explain why Wal-Mart lobbyist David Herro (who lives in the 42nd Ward) was so desperate to give Molly Phelan $14,000 or so in the last election. Obviously, Wal-Mark was planning this site for some time - corporations with Wal-Mart's research & development resources don't make these decisions without long planning and thought. This bothers me because it seems that their negotiations about the zoning changes they were trying to get for the location near Diversey was conducted in bad faith, since they were already planning this location as well, but failed to tell the public about this fact. I loathe Wal-Mart's corporate practices, but something has to go into this site. If they are planning to tear down these two historically significant and endangered (Code Orange for one of them), then many more of us that want to preserve the historical aesthetic of our community will object more strenuously. Also, I think an analysis of what other businesses this might adversely impact is necessary before jumping into this project. Good urban development needs to consider the impact on existing businesses, and yes, traffic and other concerns. Wal-Mark must make a believable case that its plan for this is workable.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I think there is an error in the original article referring to this location as "3636 N. Broadway." That address refers to the parking lot south of the 2 old and historic Wieland Dairy buildings. I happen to know this because a) the Cook County Assessor site clearly indicates this and b) my grandparents' home, a little white cottage long ago torn down, stood at 3636 N. Broadway where that parking lot is today. I believe the Wieland building's address is 3642 N. Broadway - but I could be misunderstanding where exactly Wal-Mart plans to site its store.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I don't like Wal-Mart. At all. I'm not a fan of cheap crappy goods, homogeneity or their questionable (at best) business practices.
ReplyDeleteBUT... what's done is done and at least the Wal-Beast will bring some jobs into the area and fill some vacant space. In my mind these are always good things!
The nice thing is that there seems to be a fairly even split between those who are opposed to Wal-Mart and those who support it/don't care. The anti-Walmarters will likely continue to support locally-owned businesses and those who don't have a problem with Wal-Mart will shop there and support the jobs that are being brought to our local economy. Everyone wins...at least in a perfect world.
I have less of a problem with Wal-Mart's existence in the city than I do with it's presence in small towns and rural areas where a lot of people just don't have much of choice other than to shop there.
Opinions about Wal-mart as a company aside, it seems like an odd location given that we already have a Jewel and a Walgreens right there. Again this isn't some huge Wal-mart, it's meant to be a convenience store layout, something we're hardly lacking in that area. Yes filling an empty building (especially with a tax-revenue generating business) is great, but not if it closes down the others around it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting history behind this building/location: It has been a dairy, a candy factory (Curtiss Baby Ruth), Recycled Paper Products greeting card maker ("Cathy" cartoon tchochkes and cards were a specialty), and now a discount store. Must be a moral in here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that Osco and Walgreens are not one bit happy about this!
Guys - It's simple. If you don't like a retailer, don't shop there! Look what we did to Borders. Just do the exact same thing, we'll be golden with another empty storefront.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't rocket science!
I was wrong! One of these buildings is at 3636 N. Broadway (the parking lot and my grandparents' home was at 3624 N. Broadway, per my uncle who lived there as a kid). The Cook County Assessor lists these 2 buildings under one address - 3642 - but 3636 is also part of the buildings. Sorry!
ReplyDelete